March 11th, 2022 --
Gas Tax Holiday
This week on the House floor, six Democrats brought up a bill that would address the skyrocketing gas prices that we are currently experiencing. The bill would allow for a gas tax holiday between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year.
In prior years, all six of these Democrats repeatedly voted to increase the gas tax. Now that we are in an election year and many Democratic seats are on the line, they are at least pretending to address this critically important issue of cutting taxpayers a break.
Republicans in the House jumped at the opportunity to call them out on this and asked to suspend the rules to vote on the bill right away. The outcome was to be expected, only one Democrat voted in favor of hearing the bill immediately. The rest, including the five other bill authors, voted against it.
This is the type of political cover these politicians pull to secure their re-election tickets - give rousing speeches, make it look like they are attempting to move the football down the field, relay this information back to their constituents to lock in their votes, and then take no real action on the bill when it matters.
UI Trust Fund
A similar course of events took place on Thursday’s floor session regarding the UI Trust Fund. Democrats brought up the issue and spoke to the importance of it. When challenged by Republicans to act immediately, they once again failed to do so, proving yet again their insincerity. If the legislature fails to pass a bill to refund the UI Trust Fund, employers will face massive tax increases and the Democrats in the house will be entirely to blame for this.
The political chessboard is set up perfectly this year to make a clean sweep and turn Minnesota red. Pay close attention to how your elected officials vote when it matters and hold them accountable. If they are not sincere in representing the interests of we the people, then it is time for them to be replaced!
Mask Mandate Over and State Office Building Reopens
On Monday, the mask mandate, which was still in place in the State Office Building, officially ended. We are finally mandate-free here on the Capitol Grounds!
As I mentioned before, the State Office Building will reopen to the public on March 21st. I encourage everyone to come down and address their grievances which have been ignored for the past two lockdown years.
District Updates
Every month I enjoy sending out new born baby letters to the new moms and dads of District 55A.. They grow up so fast! Enjoy them while they are little!
We are now in the 2nd month of the legislative session which means I will be holding another town hall soon. This time it will be held in person somewhere in the district, so stay tuned for a confirmed date and location.
You can watch my weekly update from the Capitol 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.