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Friends and Neighbors,
It’s another week gone by at the Capitol, and with that, I thought I’d share another update. We’ve had another Supreme Court ruling and another lawsuit since my last update, and I know it can be easy to get lost in the headlines. I want to assure you that despite all the controversy and conjecture in the media, my colleagues and I are focused on serving our communities and the state of Minnesota. We’ve laid out our legislative priorities and announced proposals for major improvements in areas like public safety, affordability, and stopping the misuse of government funds.
Working Together
We had a busy week here in St. Paul, meeting with constituents and various advocacy groups. Here are some highlights below!
Minnesota Association of Townships
On Monday, I met with the Minnesota Association of Townships to learn how we can help them maintain infrastructure and development projects.
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Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association
On Tuesday, I heard from the MN Municipal Power Agency about their efforts to improve reliability, affordability, and sustainability for municipal utilities. It was a pleasure speaking with Greg from Henderson Township!
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Minnesota Retailers Day
Tuesday was also MN Retailers Day. I met with Tracy and Deborah from Watertown. We had a great discussion on how current legislation impacts our state's retail businesses.
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Making Minnesota Safe
This past Wednesday, myself and members of the House Committee on Public Safety held a press conference announcing our proposal to combat the consequences of soft on crime policies that have emboldened criminals and degraded the safety of our communities.
Key provisions of our proposal include:
- Mandatory minimum 10-year sentences for predators engaged in first-degree sex trafficking.
- Predatory offender registration required for offenders engaged in criminal sexual conduct who receive a stayed sentence from the courts.
- New and enhanced criminal offenses including blocking a freeway, highway, transit, or the road to and from the airport.
- Increased penalty for fleeing a police officer in a reckless manner.
- Increased penalties for individuals who conspire to trespass on or damage critical infrastructure such as pipelines, utility lines, and water lines.
- Increased penalties for assaulting a peace officer from a gross misdemeanor to a felony.
- Providing better access to the public on prosecutors’ charging and dismissal decisions, and court sentencing departures
American Bikers for Training and Education
On Thursday, the American Bikers for Training And Education (ABATE) returned to the Capitol. We discussed their hopes for this legislative session, as well as my bill that reduces the sales tax on classic motorcycles.
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