Dear Neighbor,
The House is in crunch time, with floor sessions starting early in the day and running to midnight much of this week as we work to debate bills and vote on them ahead of our May 20 deadline to adjourn.
There’s a real mix of good, bipartisan proposals and some extreme measures from the far left coming to the floor. I encourage you to stream House floor video at this link so you can follow along and reach your own informed conclusions.
Here’s the latest:
Local nursery study advances
Legislation I authored (H.F. 5084) to study the reopening of the General C.C. Andrews Tree Nursery near Willow River received preliminary approval in the House this week as part of an environment package.
The nursery was a self-supporting, state-owned nursery which used seeds collected around Minnesota to sustain native growth. It was phased out around a decade ago and the time is right to revisit the facility and determine whether it is feasible to reopen. If it turns out this is a good idea, it would be an anchor for a community in the heart of our area, aiding reforestation efforts locally, in Greater Minnesota and throughout our state.
Another section of this environment bill (H.F. 3911) authorizes the DNR to issue leases to prospect and extract gas and oil on state-owned lands. This could be the first steps toward what may become a major boost to our local and state economies so stay tuned for more on this.
Anti 2nd Amendment bills
House Democrats approved all three of the anti-gun bills I mentioned in last week’s newsletter. They will do more to make criminals out of law-abiding citizens than crack down on violent criminals.
The three bills include new rules on storage (H.F. 4300), requirements for reporting stolen firearms (H.F. 601), along with a new “trigger activator” definition (H.F. 2609) that may impact some commonly used guns and render them illegal. These latest proposals follow last year’s changes Democrats enacted regarding universal background checks and red flag confiscation orders.
I believe in holding criminals accountable when they break the law, supporting our law enforcement, and working to combat the disturbing rise in overdose deaths, car thefts, and other violent crime in our state. We need to better enforce current laws to crack down on the real bad actors if we’re ever going to get serious about this.
Unfortunately, Democrats in full control of the Capitol are more focused on forcing law-abiding citizens to jump through more hoops or become criminals. All these regulations are making it harder – and more legally hazardous – for law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
I will always stand to protect our cherished Second Amendment rights. There are 1,000 better ways to better address violent crime that do not involve infringing upon law-abiding citizens.
After passing the House along party lines, the three bills are now in the hands of the Senate, where Democrats have a one-seat majority. That means a senator who currently faces first-degree felony burglary charges could cast deciding votes on bills undermining people’s ability to defend themselves during a home invasion.
National Day of Prayer
Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer in Minnesota and across our great nation. A few fellow legislators and I stepped across the street from the Capitol to join together and lift our voices before the throne room of the universe praying in Jesus' name.
Pensions bill
I was pleased to vote in favor of a pensions bill this week as it passed the House 130-0. This is a prime example of a good bill (H.F. 5040) doing the work of the people, in this case to address pension-related issues for teachers, law enforcement officers, fire fighters and others.
Save CARE Carlton
Nothing concrete to report on the CARE Carlton issue, but I continue working to save this local organization after Gov. Tim Walz threatened to shut them down by July 1. CARE Carlton is a valuable asset for local residents, providing chemical dependency and substantive abuse treatment help for women, and I am working hard to make sure they may continue providing their valuable local services.
Barnum students
It was awesome seeing so many smiles from the Barnum 6th grade students who took a field trip to the Capitol.
Palace for politicians
As of this week, Minnesota taxpayers officially are saddled with the first payment on the Democrats’ extravagant $730 million State Office Building remodel. House Republicans conducted a press conference Tuesday to reinforce the position we should not be making life harder and more expensive for Minnesotans so legislators can have fancy offices and a bigger building.
Republicans offered numerous proposals to take more cost-effective approaches and put the dollars saved to more pressing issues for Minnesotans. Unfortunately, the House majority rejected these efforts and now Minnesotans are forced to pay.
Final days
Monday brings us to the final two weeks of this session before our deadline to adjourn, but even fewer days remain to meet on the House floor, per our Constitution. Please stay in touch and I’ll do my best to keep you up to speed down the stretch.
Sincerely,
Jeff