Dear Neighbor,
Before we take a look at this week’s headlines from the Capitol, I would like to wish our local high school teams good luck as we continue making our way through the winter postseason. I encourage area residents to get out and support our local squads and hope we finish with a flourish!
At the Capitol, we are nearing the end of Week 2 in the legislative session and this week’s newsworthy items include the majority blocking an effort to help farmers and the unveiling of a package of bills to improve public safety in our state
On Wednesday, House Republican proposed to allocate $50 million for a depleted loan program which aids farmers, but the majority unanimously voted against and blocked this move.
The issue we were trying to address is the Rural Finance Authority loan program runs out of money today, according the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. We were looking to replenish those funds to eliminate uncertainty for farmers and help them prepare for the upcoming growing season.
We had a chance to replenish depleted funding for loan programs to help farmers, yet the House majority stood in the way for reasons I don’t think anyone understands. There’s nothing to be gained by waiting until later to help farmers. All we’ll do is add to the uncertainty for financially stressed farmers as we get closer to the start of a new growing season.
As for public safety in the metro, House Republicans this week conducted a press conference to talk about a package of five bills aimed at improving public safety in Minnesota communities.
The bills are in response to a rise in violent crime on Metro Transit vehicles and in many parts of the Twin Cities. Taken together, they target many of the issues driving crime in the Metro area, including gang and drug trafficking activity, as well as the need for additional officers and tools for law enforcement to combat crime on the light rail lines and in communities.
Public safety is a priority for House Republicans and the need for improvement is quite clear, given the rise in violent crimes we have seen. This isn’t just a Twin Cities problem because the impacts are felt throughout the state. If our government has one responsibility, it is to provide public safety and the package of bills we put forward would be a help in that regard. People from all around the state deserve to be able to attend events at major venues or use public transportation without fears of violent crimes occurring.
Proposals announced include:
- A bill that would require cities with regional or statewide sports and entertainment facilities to have adequate law enforcement, or risk losing Local Government Aid (LGA) from the state.
- A bill to boost penalties for gang members who use firearms in commission of a crime. Currently, prosecutors are not pursuing gun charges against criminals who commit crimes using guns because the penalty level is not high enough.
- A bill to boost funding for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) for gang and drug trafficking efforts.
- A bill that would increase enforcement of fare evasion, increase sworn officers for Metro Transit police, and install interactive cameras on light rail platforms.
- A bill that would prohibit cities from disarming officers in good standing
Until next time, have a good weekend and enjoy the thaw.
Sincerely,
Bud