Last week, Senate Democrats passed Senate File 2. The bill deals with paid family medical leave. While it may sound like a great idea on the surface, the reality is that mandating paid leave actually hurts the very people it's intends to help. This program will impose a $3 billion tax hike on every worker and employer in the state, but it also imposes unfunded mandates on local governments and school districts, leading to higher property taxes. Furthermore, taxpayer-funded government growth will make it more like an unpaid leave program. To make matters worse, there is no guarantee that individuals with existing benefits will be able to keep them, as they could be absorbed into a state-run bureaucracy. Democrats are presenting this program as a utopia, but in reality, it could turn out to be a nightmare for many Minnesotans.

 

Paid family medical leave controls employers through regulation. It takes away their ability to make their own decisions about how to run their businesses, and it imposes a one-size-fits-all approach that may not work for every employer. This is especially problematic for small businesses, which may not have the resources to offer paid leave without sacrificing other benefits or even laying off employees.

 

In order to help the most people, we must be able to provide jobs. Mandating paid leave puts additional burdens on businesses, which can lead to decreased hiring and even layoffs. This is not the way to improve the economy and help working families.

On Wednesday, May 10th; Senate Republicans and Democrats joined together to pass Senate File 1394. This bill creats a framework to prosecute individuals found guilty of using deep fake technology to create sexualized images or videos without expressed consent. The bill also creates hefty fines for bad actors who may create false or misleading videos of politicians in order to affect elections. 

 

The passing of Senate File 1394 is a significant step forward in the fight against the misuse of AI-powered deep fake technology. With the rapid advancement of AI technology, it has become increasingly easy for individuals to create highly convincing fake videos or images for nefarious purposes. This bill aims to prevent the creation of non-consensual sexualized content using deep fake technology and seeks to curb the spread of false or misleading videos of politicians that could undermine the integrity of our democratic processes. By establishing a legal framework for prosecuting those who engage in such activities, this bill sends a strong message that these actions will not be tolerated in our society. It is crucial that we continue to develop policies and regulations to keep up with the advancements in technology and protect the rights and dignity of individuals and the integrity of our democratic processes.

As we speak, Democrats are growing the state government operating budget by nearly 40%, which is astronomical. This means that taxpayers will be facing higher costs in their daily lives, whether it's energy bills, grocery expenses, or gas prices. The last thing we want is for taxpayers to be treated like a bottomless piggy bank to pay for more bureaucrats.

 

To put this into perspective, let's compare our state budget with Arizona's. Arizona has a population that is 1.5 million higher than ours, yet their budget is only $17 billion per year. In contrast, Minnesota's budget projection for the upcoming biennium is a whopping $72 billion. We cannot continue to burden our taxpayers with such high costs.

 

We offered several common-sense amendments to provide increased accountability for taxpayer resources and ensure that efforts to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse of public dollars are well-funded. However, these amendments were not even considered.

Furthermore, Democrats are changing state law to allow the government to take grants from wealthy organizations. These grants come with strings attached and would make the power of Minnesota's government available for purchase to further private agendas of wealthy individuals. It should be a bipartisan vote to say that our government is not for sale.

 

We must be mindful of the growing state government budget and how it affects taxpayers. We must work together to ensure accountability and transparency in the use of public funds. I hope you will join me in advocating for common-sense solutions to protect our taxpayers.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me for help with any state issue or legislative initiative: [email protected] or at (651) 296-3219.

Senator Calvin Bahr

Minnesota Senate, District 31

 

Choose Freedom,