Having trouble viewing this email?  [ [link removed] ]View it as a Web page [ [link removed] ].






Robbins Header




*May 24, 2024
*






Robbins1

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The 2024 Legislative Session has come to a chaotic end! After nearly three straight days of Floor sessions, the Democrat majority passed their entire agenda in a giant 1,400-page bill that was unavailable in print or online when it was passed over the loud of objections of the Minority.

*You can see my comments on the chaos **here* [ [link removed] ]*.*

We are still combing through this last-minute “kitchen sink” bill to find out what exactly was passed into law.  House and Senate Republican Leaders sent a letter [ [link removed] ] to Governor Walz yesterday asking him to veto the bill, given the flagrant abuse of power and Legislative process.  As I write, the Governor has not responded to this request.

Keep reading for a summary of both the good and bad policies passed this session!

*Now that we are out of session, my updates will only be periodic.  I hope you all have a wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing you at all of the great events in our communities!*







Executive Summary

*
Chaotic End to Session

*
"Kitchen Sink" Bill

*
Bonding Bill


*
Major BIlls That Passed and Failed This Session

*
Legislative Wins For Our District






Chaotic End to Session

*“Kitchen-Sink” Bill:*  As mentioned above, this year's session ended in chaos. In a departure from House Rules and decorum, the DFL Majority pushed through a “kitchen sink” bill that contained all of their “omnibus bills” in a one giant 1400-page bill before anyone could even read it.

We had a constitutional deadline to adjourn by midnight on Sunday, May 19th.

At 9:45 p.m. on Sunday night, the Tax Committee on which I served called for a Conference Committee between the House and Senate to go through the final differences between the two versions of the Tax Bill.  Although no House Republicans were appointed to serve on the Conference Committee, I went to find out what would be in the final bill.  For context, the Tax Conference Committee had not met for 6 days.

I expected there to be fairly quick agreement on all of the outstanding tax provisions and that we would bring the tax bill to the floor for a quick debate.  *We were all very surprised when, without discussion, the Chair moved to adopt a final version of the tax bill AND add in ten other bills that were unrelated. *

Some of the additional bills had been debated in the House as Omnibus bills from other committees, but they had not been taken up by the Senate.  *One of the new bills added into this “kitchen sink” bill had NEVER been heard in the Senate and didn’t even have a House companion (SF 5019)!*

*It was outrageous, and a clear violation of the Constitution’s “single subject” requirement, to put all of these bills together into an enormous 1400-page bill.*   Here’s a list of the bills that they dumped into the Tax bill:


* HF 3436 – Transportation Policy
* SF 5326 – Higher Ed Conference Committee Report
* SF 4942 – Energy & Agriculture Conference Committee Report
* SF 4399 – Human Services Conference Committee Report
* SF 4699 – Health Conference Committee Report
* HF 5363 – Paid Family & Medical Leave “Fix-It” bill *($887 million tax increase!)*
* HF 2609 – Straw purchase Penalties and Trigger Activation bill
* HF 4247 – Scope of Practice bill (doesn’t include optometrists)
* HF 4259 – Property Tax provisions
* SF 5019 – State Employee Compensation Plans *(no House version!)*

After the Tax Conference Committee created this giant bill, it then went to the House Floor at about 10:50 p.m.  House Rules say that Conference Committee Reports have to be available to Members before they are voted on.  *There were no copies of the bill in the Chamber and when I went online to try to read it, I got a message saying the link was not available.*

I rose to make a “Parliamentary Inquiry” and ask how we could get a copy of the bill – since we still had a little more than an hour left, I assumed we’d get copies and have at least a small debate on the bill.

Instead, the Speaker ignored inquires by myself and others, “called the question,” – ending debate and moving right to the “final passage” vote.  She ignored many higher order motions and points of inquiry, which as supposed to take precedence and never gave us ANY explanation why she was taking this course of action. 

It quickly turned to chaos, with the Speaker just pushing the House Clerk to take the vote and ignoring all procedures and points of order, including undebatable motions to adjourn and a call for “division,” which would require Members to stand to cast their votes.

A few minutes later, a similar scenario played out in the Senate.

*Not a single Member of either party was able to read or access a 1400-page “kitchen sink” bill that will now be state law in Minnesota.  This is an unconscionable breach of House Rules and decorum.*

 

*Bonding Bill:*  After a brief recess to calm things down, the Democrat Majority then brought a “cash-only” bonding bill to the floor.   This was apparently a “slimmed” down version of the usual “general obligation” bonding bill that contained only “agency” projects.  Since it was a “cash” bill, it would only require a Majority vote – not the Super Majority required by the Constitution for issuing debt for bonding.

This time, Minority Leader Demuth was given a single copy of the bill, but it didn’t contain any information about the total cost.  No other Members had copies of the bill and again it was not available online.

*It was now about 11:50 p.m. and the House again erupted in protest against not being able to see the bill, know what projects were in it or know the cost.  The Speaker again refused to answer questions, “called the question” to end debate and pushed it through.*

The Senate was even more chaotic.  They also rammed the bill through without anyone having access to it, but they also mismanaged the clock.  Even though they had the votes to pass the bill (34), they failed to close the vote before midnight, so the bill did not pass.

*It was truly a sad way to end the session.*  This level of abuse of power and lack of transparency has not occurred in the Legislature in our lifetimes.  Trust was broken between the Majority and the Minority not as much over policy as over the absolute abuse of the Rules, which are specifically intended to protect the Minority.  If we cannot even be guaranteed a fair process, our limited role in checking the power of the Majority is obliterated.

The Majority also broke faith with the people of Minnesota, who expect their Representatives to at least have access to the bills they are passing and to uphold the institution of the Legislature.






Major Bills that Passed and Failed This Session

Although Members and staff are still going to through the bill to see what actual language was passed, here’s a quick look of some of the key items that passed – and didn’t pass – this session:

*Bills that Passed:*


* *Uber/Lyft bill* that inserted state government into private contracts and held up all work in the Senate for more than 12 hours;  This complete halt to Senate activity on Saturday is what cascaded into the Majority’s inability to get their work done on time.
* *Felony penalty for “straw purchases” and ban on “trigger activators”*
* *$887 million tax increase on employees and employers* to shore up their Paid Family Leave Program, which has already been declared insolvent before it starts
* *Ban on Historic Horse Racing*, which helps the Tribes but hurts Minnesota’s two horse tracks
* *$30 million in stabilization funding for EMS Services*
* *State employee compensations plans* – this bill was NEVER heard in the Senate and did not have a House companion, but still somehow made it into the final bill because this is a top DFL special interest. This violated Rules and procedures in both Chambers, the DFL made it happen.

*Bills that Failed:*


* *ERA constitutional amendment *– This would have added state Constitutional protections for abortion up until birth and gender identity and expression, but it did not include religion or age.
* *Sports Betting *- This was not really a partisan issue, but Democrats refused to work with Republicans to find a solution that would have garnered the bipartisan votes needed to get it passed.
* *Bonding Projects for agencies AND local communities - *The $730 million “Palace for Politicians” will be built, but our communities will not get much needed bonding dollars for water treatment facilities, roads and bridges and other critical infrastructure projects.
* *Tax Relief for Veterans - *House Democrats made a big show of accepting the increase in the homestead property tax exclusion for disabled Veterans and for allowing Veterans’ organization to be able to use up to 50% of their charitable gambling proceeds for improvements in their buildings. "BOTH provisions were accepted by the Conference Committee but taken out in the final “kitchen-sink” bill.  "

*It is absolutely unconscionable that Veterans’ were again ignored by the Majority!*

"Members and staff are still trying to digest the bill, so I’m sure there are a lot of other provisions we will discover. "






Legislative Wins for District 37A

Although I serve in the Minority and my bills are rarely given a hearing, I have been able to accomplish some important priorities for our district over the last two years. I’m grateful to all of the constituents who have brought these issues to my attention!

 


* Last year, I was able to get bonding projects for Corcoran, Greenfield, Medina/Loretto and Maple Grove.

 


* I worked with our Fire Chiefs to pass an exemption for paid, on-call firefighters from the new Earned Sick & Safe Time regulations. This exemption helps small cities’ and fire department’s budgets while allowing firefighters the flexibility to take time off without affecting their mandatory training.

 


* Working with residents in Independence, I was able to pass a provision that will stop the DNR from charging residents $2000 to certify their record of easement for crossing the Luce Line Trail on their property.

 


* I worked with a Girl Scout to pass a bill to update the DPS Caretaker form. This change ensures that if someone is in an accident, law enforcement will be notified that someone under their care may need assistance.

 


* I worked with the MN State High School League to pass a provision to require MNSHL coaches to receive training in eating disorder risks and prevention.

 


* I was able to strengthen the safety provisions in the Cannabis law by adding a Clinical Pharmacy expert and limiting cannabis advertising.

 


* I worked with a constituent to ensure Assisted Living facilities provide residents and their families information on how correction orders have been addressed. This will help improve transparency and provide peace of mind for our seniors and their families.





Photos

kr1

Last day in the State Office Building before it is gutted for the $730 million “Palace for Politicians.” Such a colossal waste of taxpayers’ hard-earned money. To add insult to injury, the DFL is getting rid of all our old office furniture & buying new! Current stuff is fine!

kr2

Such a treat that the Thai Community hosted the Minnesota Songkran Festival on the Capitol Mall last weekend! It has been a welcome break during these marathon days to walk over & watch the performances while eating some amazing Thai Food! ??






THANK YOU!

It is a great privilege to be able to represent our beautiful district in the Minnesota House!  Now that the 2024 session is over, I will not be sending out weekly updates, but will still send occasional newsletters as event warrant.

I am certainly still working for our district, however!  I am always happy to meet or take a call and hope to see many of you at all of the fun events in our communities this summer!

The best way to reach me in the “interim” is by email:  *[email protected]. * You can also leave a message at 651-296-7806.  My office voicemail is checked by my wonderful LA, Betsy, several times a week!

I hope you all have a wonderful summer and I hope to see you somewhere soon!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Kristin











Facebook Logo [ [link removed] ]

 

/RepKristinRobbins [ [link removed] ]





239 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.7806







________________________________________________________________________

Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page [ [link removed] ]. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com [ [link removed] ].

This service is provided to you at no charge by Minnesota House GOP [ [link removed] ].

________________________________________________________________________

This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Minnesota House GOP · 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. · Saint Paul, MN 55155 GovDelivery logo [ [link removed] ]