Dear Neighbors,
Things are gaining steam in St. Paul as committees have started their work in earnest. Unfortunately, House Speaker Melissa Hortman continues to keep the State Office Building closed to the public. This means that constituents are barred from meeting with representatives in their offices. I am incredibly disappointed by this as life has largely returned to normal everywhere except the Capitol here in St. Paul. Please reach out to me if you’d like to meet in person and we’ll make sure to get something set up so we can chat face-to-face.
I am also honored to be recognized by CPAC for my consistently, conservative voting record in St. Paul. As always, I do my best to represent the values of our community and I appreciate the recognition.
As the House Republican lead on the Education Policy Committee, I spend a lot of time and energy making sure that Minnesota students have access to a world-class education.
Last week, the Education Policy Committee voted to advance a bill, HF2950, that would make it easier to close schools to in-person learning with as little as one-day notice, with zero required in-person learning options. The bill advanced on a party-line vote with all Democrats voting in support and Republicans against.
After more than two years of disruptions to students and families, it’s disappointing to see House Democrats promote legislation that would make it easier to close schools to all in-person learning. Right now, our focus should be on keeping kids in the classroom and catching them up from the devastating learning losses of the past two years.
Schools already have the tools they need to respond in an emergency — this bill takes us in the wrong direction and increases the likelihood that we'll see more harmful school closures in the future.
Stay tuned on this as the bill’s next stop is the House Floor.
DFL Unemployment Insurance bill would cause higher taxes
House Democrats have advanced a bill that would go only part of the way towards restoring our Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to solvency. This Democrat bill only pays the deficit in the fund instead of restoring it to a healthy balance and would result in at least six years of higher taxes for local businesses.
House Republicans, along with Senate Republicans and Democrats as well as the Governor, have supported a bill to fully restore the fund and remove the threat of skyrocketing taxes on Minnesota businesses.
Raising taxes on hardworking local businesses when the state has a nearly $8 billion surplus is unacceptable. I will fight against these tax hikes so that our businesses can focus on recovering from forced closures due to the pandemic.
Staying in Touch
Please be sure to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-6746 or via email at rep.sondra.erickson@house.mn.
Have a good day,
Sondra