Dear Neighbors,
Things are picking up at the capitol as committees are meeting every day and have started moving bills through the process. One bill that is garnering attention in St. Paul is House Democrats’ plan for restoring the state’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) fund.
The fund has been depleted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Without action from the legislature, businesses across the state could be faced with significant tax increases.
The Democrat plan would only partially refill the fund—resulting in a massive six-year tax increase on businesses.
With inflation soaring to 40-year highs, supply chain issues, workforce challenges, and more, we need to stop House Democrats from punishing businesses with six years of higher taxes at a time when Minnesota has a record-setting $7.7 billion surplus.
This is a reckless and bad idea by House Democrats, and I am hopeful that they will come to their senses and approve legislation that fully repays this fund—thus preventing these harmful tax hikes from going into effect.
March 14th is the deadline for action on this important issue.
Addressing Public Safety
I am co-author of a bill recently introduced that establishes a carjacking crime in state statute.
House File 3325 is a direct response to an alarming increase in the number of carjackings across the Twin Cities. According to the Minneapolis Police Department, there were 640 carjacking in 2021, compared to 388 in 2020, and 104 in 2019.
There is currently no state law designating carjacking as a criminal offense. This bill would establish three levels of severity with increased penalties for the more violent the carjacking crime is.
Rising levels of crime are top of mind for Minnesotans across the state. This bill is a commonsense approach to addressing these issues. I am committed to working with law enforcement to make sure they have the resources they need to keep our neighborhoods safe.
I would expect a full package of public safety bills to be released by House Republicans soon. Stay tuned on this.
Staying in Touch
Many other issues will be addressed during this year’s session. I encourage you to reach out to me to share your priorities, thoughts, questions, and concerns. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-4293 or via email at rep.john.poston@house.mn.
Have a great weekend,
John