Dear Neighbor,
I would like to begin today’s newsletter by paying tribute to the three fallen Burnsville heroes: Police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, and firefighter/medic Adam Finseth, all of whom recently were killed while on duty. It was a privilege to witness the outpouring of support from so many entities at their memorial ceremony this week. Individuals from our local communities were among the 10,000 or so people reportedly in attendance, showing their own support for the three heroes, and their friends, families, and co-workers.
State economic forecast
State officials issued a new economic forecast for Minnesota on Thursday, with a looming $1.5 billion shortfall through 2027 overshadowing a $3.715 billion surplus for the current biennium.
It seems like people became so accustomed to hearing about our state’s historic surplus last year that many folks are unaware the Democrats spent all that money last spring and a shortfall is still projected for our state. They spent the $17.5 billion surplus, raised taxes by $10 billion and increased state spending by 40 percent. That approach is reckless, unaffordable and has left our state vulnerable at a time when our local taxpayers already have been facing record price increases.
We need more balance in St. Paul to help us take a practical approach, with common sense guiding our budget decisions. The one-party control has had our state living hand to mouth and it needs to end. This forecast does not change the fact the party in full control needs to start making good on their promises to fully eliminate the tax on Social Security, provide $2000 rebate checks for Minnesotans and completely fix their errors in last year’s tax bill.
Local visitors
It was great visiting with some of our local residents representing the MSOP facility in Moose Lake this week. Thanks for all you do in your important work!
Always fun to have friends down here at the Capitol from our local area hospitality businesses. They truly are the heartbeat of greater Minnesota!
Anti-Second Amendment bills
The House committee on public safety on Thursday conducted hearings for a pair of anti-Second Amendment bills authored by Democrats.
The bills are H.F. 601 – Her, arbitrary deadline for reporting for lost and stolen firearms; and H.F. 4300 – Becker-Finn, regarding firearm storage. Both proposals seem to do more to criminalize good-faith, law-abiding gun owners than to crack down on the repeat criminals and other true bad actors our courts continue putting back on the street.
Rep. Her’s bill puts the onus on the victim of a crime to file a report to law enforcement within the government’s definition of reasonable time – 48 hours. If you are the victim of a firearm theft, and the perpetrator of that crime commits another crime with your stolen weapon, the bill stipulates that you may be held responsible.
Rep. Becker-Finn’s bill requires a person to either store a firearm not in the person’s direct control in a safe or unloaded with a locking device. On the same day the DFL introduced this bill that makes it a crime if a law-abiding firearm owner does not unload a firearm and secure it with a locking device in the person’s home, the DFL also introduced a bill (HF4277) that repeals mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes involving the possession or use of a firearm.
These increased penalties come in a context where the actual perpetrators of such crimes are increasingly released back out onto the street under laws passed by Democrats in 2023 … and bills they continue pushing today.
I oppose these measures because it is misguided to crack down on gun owners who honor our laws and act in good faith instead of going after the real criminals. Furthermore, undermining our Second Amendment rights is a slippery slope toward losing our liberties. I’d rather see us enforce what’s already in our state statutes and cracking down on true bad actors instead of finding new ways to turn local law-abiding gun owners into criminals.
Look for more news from the House soon. I plan to take a closer look at some of the bills I’m authoring/co-authoring this session. Click here for the Bill Tracker website that helps local residents stay in the loop from our home district as proposals move through the process.
Sincerely,
Jeff