All Members of the NHRC Voted Against New Spending

The members of the New House Republican Caucus (NHRC) voted against a proposal that would create a new account to spend $35 million on local governments and public safety. The members of the New House Republican Caucus made the following statement:

“We voted against this measure because we do not believe you can spend your way out of a leadership problem. This $35 million spending account is nothing more than an attempt to subsidize failed leadership at the top of Minnesota state government and Minneapolis city government.

The elected officials in Minnesota and Minneapolis have not kept people safe. This is not due to a lack of money. Instead, incompetent leaders and harmful policies have led to destroyed businesses and devastated cities. The people who run Minneapolis have chosen to prioritize parks over public safety. If state government created a new $35 million fund for Minneapolis to use, then we would just be enabling bad decisions.

Additionally, the federal government has decided to send vast amounts of money across the country. Democrats in Washington D.C. sent over $800 million to our state’s metro area for many purposes, including police protection. Minnesota taxpayers should not be forced to spend even more of their money on a new riot fund for the Twin Cities. Republicans should not be trying to outspend Democrats.

Simply throwing more money at a problem will not fix it. We need better leaders, not more money.”

Minneapolis, St Paul, and the two main metro counties have received over $805 million from the "American Rescue Plan" Act passed by DC Democrats. The metropolitan area can use that money to backfill budget gaps and pay police - among many other purposes. On Wednesday, Representative Kurt Daudt forced a vote on the House Floor to create a new, revolving fund, packed with $35 million from all Minnesota taxpayers, to be used for future riot control in the metro.

I voted no.

Republicans should not be grandstanding and trying to outspend Democrats when the metro is flush with cash.

I heard loud and clear that Minnesotans do not want to pay for Minneapolis' incompetence, especially for creating this new on-going riot account which accepts riots to be the new normal. I had the opportunity yesterday to join KNSI's "Ox in the Afternoon" to discuss the issue. If you want to listen in, you can find the interview here: KNSI Interview.

It's Time to Decommission Northstar Commuter Rail

As I continue to find areas where we can reduce our 'government footprint' and reduce state spending, I try to target particular areas where we can have immediate effect. In that mode, I have introduced a bill (HF 1993) that would decommission the Northstar Commuter Rail. Ridership on the Northstar Rail was already suffering greatly pre-pandemic and during this past year, ridership has gone down ANOTHER 96%. This has resulted in massive subsidies just to keep the rail operational for a small handful of those continuing to ride.

With companies like Target moving their corporate offices out of the city center, and much of the broader workforce working from home - perhaps for the long-term, it's time to change how we think about our transportation needs into downtown. It's becoming very clear that we need to stop wasting money on commuter rails like Northstar.

I put together a video explaining this bill that you can watch by clicking below. 

Choose Freedom,

Cal Bahr
State Representative, 31B

Coming up Next Week

• I have received a lot of calls and emails from my community about HF 604 - the mask mandate. Let me assure you that I do not support the mandatory wearing of masks and will be voting against any bill that would require you to wear one.

Contact:

We are still attempting to provide regular contact remotely regardless of our COVID-19 restrictions so If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us - please email my Legislative Assistant, Barbara, at barbara.smith@house.mn.

Watch the Minnesota House on Public TV

Video: Streaming Website. Also you can watch committees and Floor Sessions on YouTube.