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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Erik Mortensen (R)

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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FROM REP. ERIK MORTENSEN - DISTRICT 55A

Friday, February 4, 2022

Friday, February 4th, 2022

 

It was a chilly Monday afternoon when the 2022 Legislative Session kicked off. I wasn’t expecting too much excitement on the first day but boy was I wrong!

Walking on the House floor as the ONLY unmasked legislator willing to challenge the useless mask mandate put in place by Speaker of the House, Melissa Hortman, was about as exciting as it was going to get UNTIL, for the first time since I was elected, I caught a glimpse of Governor Walz.  

Surprised at actually seeing him in person, I turned to snap a photo to prove to folks that the man DOES in fact exist.  

He was walking around the House floor distributing lemon bars and, seeing me take a photo, decided he would offer one to me. My reaction, I would guess, is not what he expected. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWFLssxk7E0.

This governor peddling lemon bars for yet another one of his publicity stunts is the same governor mandating a vaccine that has NOT stopped the spread of COVID-19.

After telling him I wouldn’t trust anything coming from him, I decided to steer the conversation in another direction. Walz had just finished bragging about how good of a politician he is and claiming that he and I are on the same side, so I asked him, if this is the case, why he destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of business owners across the state and why he had thrown a grandmother, Lisa Hanson, in jail for refusing to comply with his tyrannical lockdowns. No answer was given.  He simply walked away like the coward he is. This is the governor we are dealing with! 

Now more than ever it is critical that we push for the NEVER AGAIN BILL to be passed. This bill would require two thirds of the legislature to declare an emergency and lockdown the state, rather than one man anointing himself king and locking everyone in their homes! The good news - this bill is gaining some momentum in the Senate. This week we picked up an additional co-sponsor, Senator Pratt. We need to make sure that more legislators make this a priority. If you are not comfortable having one man call all the shots, I urge you to contact your local legislators and demand they sign on to this bill. 

Never Again

 

HF1315 and CROWN ACT 

Our state and our nation are going through turbulent times with a knucklehead in the White House and Democrats in control of the Minnesota State House. Crime has skyrocketed, inflation is surging, nurses are being fired for refusing to take an experimental vaccine and 2 years into a pandemic Minneapolis and St. Paul are implementing vaccine passports to have dinner or go to a Wild game.

You would think these would be the main issues being discussed in St. Paul. Unfortunately, this is not the case. While we are facing very real and serious issues, the Democrats are discussing HF1315 and the CROWN ACT. What is the Crown Act you might ask? The CROWN Act stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.  Yes, that’s the House Democrats top priority in St. Paul – the rampant issue of Hair Discrimination.

Now, of course I don’t support any discrimination of any kind but when homicides are at record levels, inflation is at a 40-year high and Minnesota workers are being fired for their vaccination status I think most Minnesotans would agree we have much bigger issues to tackle. If this isn’t enough proof as to how out of touch the Democrats are than I don’t know what is.

 

BILLS INTRODUCED THIS WEEK

This week I introduced a number of bills that will tackle the issues listed above: 

HF3033 - Right to Carry without a permit and optional permit to carry provided. 

HF2902 - Ivermectin prescription limitations prohibited, and ivermectin prescription dispensing required. 

HF2899 - COVID-19 and influenza vaccine requirements prohibited. 

HF2896 - Ivermectin required to be available over the counter. 

HF2868 - Individuals under the age of 18 exempted from income tax. 

HF2866 - Income tax overtime pay subtraction allowed. 

HF2851 - Commissioner of Administration prohibited from limiting public access to buildings during Department of Revenue activities to collect tax mandated by state law.  

HF2850 - Taxation; individual income tax and corporate franchise tax phased out. 

 

You can watch my weekly update here.

Remember if you want to be politically respected you must be politically feared, 

 

Erik Mortensen

State Representative, 55A 

Contact 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me or my office. We are still attempting to provide regular contact remotely so if you have other needs, please email my Legislative Assistant, Bridget, at Bridget.Williams@house.mn

Watch the Minnesota House on Public TV 

Video: Streaming Website. Also you can watch committees and Floor Sessions on YouTube.