Friends,
Those of us in Northern Minnesota have waited long enough and Governor Walz's decision to continue to put roadblocks in front of Line 3 does nothing to help those in our part of the state. This project has cleared every environmental hurdle put in front of it, will bring much-needed jobs to our area—keeping workers close to home, and the pipeline is the safest way to move oil to market. We need to get it done.
Governor Tim Walz's decision to proceed with efforts to challenge the Enbridge Line 3 replacement pipeline was extremely disappointing. The petition for reconsideration challenges the unanimous decision by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to grant the certificate of need for the pipeline.
Just this week, the Star Tribune reported that safety officials are concerned by increased oil train traffic coming in from Canada. The article specifically cited "pipeline limbo" as a factor that is partially to blame for the increase in rail traffic.
This was the first chance for Governor Walz to stand up to radical elements of the environmental movement and with those every day Minnesotans across the state. He campaigned on a theme of 'One Minnesota' but has already failed the first time that was put to the test. See my video below where I called on the governor to let Line 3 move forward.
MNLARS Funding Request & Audit
Last week, Governor Walz requested $15.7 million to help to clean up the MNLARS mess that has made it such a headache for Minnesotans looking for DMV services. The problem is this request for almost $16 million comes without any plan to fix the MNLARS or details in how the appropriation would be used. Even worse, there was no similar request to make the deputy registrars whole from the harm they have suffered during the entire MNLARS mess. Fortunately, a bill was heard in the committee on Tuesday to provide reimbursement for deputy registrars.
Minnesotans deserve a licensing system that works, but Minnesotans deserve to see a detailed plan on what improvements we can expect before we put one more penny into MNLARS. In addition, any plan to fund this disastrous government boondoggle must include relief for our deputy registrars who have suffered financial losses and countless headaches because of the failures of MNLARS.
On Thursday, the Legislative Audit Commission met to review a long-awaited Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) report titled Factors That Contributed to MNLARS Problems. Studying and learning from this report should help us to make sure we avoid preventable IT mistakes like MNLARS in the future.
Stay in Touch
Please continue to stay in touch to share your thoughts or concerns. My phone number is 651-296-4265 or you can email me at rep.matt.grossell@house.mn.
Have a great weekend and God Bless!
Matt