Dear Neighbor,
Before we get into business from the House, I would like to thank all those who participated in local precinct caucus events this week. Grass-roots participation is a key component of our government and it is good to see people invested in our communities, state and nation.
Here’s a look at some of this week’s notes from St. Paul:
State economic forecast
State officials issued a new economic forecast for Minnesota Thursday, with a looming $1.5 billion shortfall through 2027 overshadowing a $3.715 billion surplus for the current biennium.
The uneven bottom line is a call for legislators to take a tempered approach to fiscal matters. Yes, there is a surplus now, but there are concerns about future economic developments, so we need to be judicious in our state spending. Time will tell what the actual bottom line looks like as we get closer to the next biennium. For now, we would be best served by taking a balanced approach.
The state is fully funded for the current two-year cycle. The new bottom line will guide legislators through supplemental fiscal considerations the rest of the 2024 session.
Gun-control 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.
The increased penalties come at a time when the actual perpetrators of such crimes are increasingly released back out onto the street under laws passed by Democrats in 2023. 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. I do not support that approach and will continue opposing these anti-Second Amendment bills.
Have a good weekend and please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Dean