Neighbor,
The Legislature returned to the Capitol this week, starting with a swearing-in ceremony Tuesday as the 91st Legislature officially convened.
It is nice to get back to the Capitol and continue working on behalf of the people in District 2B, which encompasses all of Mahnomen and portions of Becker, Clearwater, Hubbard, Otter Tail, and Wadena counties.
We face some serious challenges here in Greater Minnesota and much of my focus will remain on those issues so we can not only make improvements to help now, but to stabilize our communities for the long haul.
This also could be a very important session for those of us who proudly support the Second Amendment. People who oppose gun rights started rallying at the Capitol even before the House officially got underway on Tuesday and you can imagine they will be a constant presence at the Capitol this year. That is why it is so important for those of us who support the Second Amendment to step up and actively oppose legislation that may compromise our constitutional rights.
As always, I will do my best to put out notice as to when these kinds of bills will be the subjects of public hearings. We will have to keep an especially close eye on bills this year because the new Democrat majority in the House has created a committee structure that sets the table for moving bills through the legislative process with very little notice.
This issue was discussed on the House floor yesterday. The new majority leader was asked point-blank if he would guarantee that citizens will have at least 24 hours’ notice of a hearing taking place on a bill. It was disappointing that he failed to answer with a plain “yes” to that question. This could prove to be especially problematic for people in parts of the state like ours, where we need fair warning to get to the Capitol for a legislative hearing. Again, I’ll do my best to keep you in the loop.
Otherwise, this session my committee assignments include the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy, Environment and Natural Resources Finance, State Government Finance, and Legacy Finance committees. I plan to take a close look at the Legacy bill this year to share just some of the ways the new majority is spending those tax dollars of ours. I am in the process of authoring a number of bills that we can touch on later as well.
Look for news on this issue and many others as the session unfolds. Until next time, be in touch and and, as always, your input is welcome by emailing rep.steve.green@house.mn or by calling (651) 296-9918.
-Steve