Hello from the State Capitol,
This week in the House Education Finance Committee, we considered a proposal that would have delivered immediate improvements to school safety across Minnesota.
SCHOOL SAFETY PLAN STALLS IN EDUCATION FINANCE COMMITTEE
The goal of keeping students and staff safe at school is a bipartisan goal - all students and staff deserve to be safe at school. The solutions proposed to accomplish this goal are not always bipartisan. Some are, and some are highly ideological. I understand the varying viewpoints and the passion behind them.
With all the political division we are experiencing, I believe it’s important to come together where both sides can find agreement. People want us to come together on the things we can agree upon. There is no one “magic solution” to fixing school safety. It’s going to take a multilayered approach. That’s why it’s critical to pass those evidence-based solutions where we have bipartisan support and that we know will increase school safety.
Our House Republican education team and I recently introduced a school safety package. It is a comprehensive school safety plan that includes increased funding for school safety in public, nonpublic, and tribal schools, expanded support for student mental health services, and flexible options for anonymous threat reporting systems and school safety planning. It also addresses student discipline reforms aimed at better protecting teachers, staff, and students.
Chair Kresha and I, in the Education Finance and Education Policy committees, have listened to various ideas and welcomed different proposals from both sides of the aisle with one simple goal: protecting every student in every school.
Sadly, when the committee voted on our school safety package on April 14, the outcome was strictly along party lines. Every Republican supported the plan, while every Democrat opposed it, resulting in the proposal falling short by a single vote.
With just about a month remaining in the legislative session, the path forward is clear: we can act on solutions that already have demonstrated support, or we can do nothing. Students, educators, and families deserve action, not postponement. This proposal offers meaningful, immediate improvements to school safety, and I remain hopeful it will be reconsidered in the weeks ahead.
To watch the school safety press conference that I participated in, click here.
PROPERTY TAX REFUND AND VEHICLE TAB FEE RELIEF BILLS FAILS TO GARNER DEMOCRAT SUPPORT
House lawmakers debated a pair of proposals on April 9 that are designed to put more money into the pockets of hardworking Minnesotans who are being bombarded with high property taxes, increased fees, skyrocketing energy costs, and so much more.
The first proposal would have provided a one-time statewide property tax refund for taxes payable in 2026. The second would have lowered vehicle tab fees.
Outrageously high property taxes are probably the number one issue I’m hearing about locally. The property tax price tags citizens are paying are absolutely ridiculous. They’re not sustainable and just plain wrong!
Unfunded mandates passed during the 2023–2024 biennium by the DFL-led legislature and Governor Walz are the major cause for these property tax increases which have shifted mandate costs onto local taxpayers. Now our counties, cities, and schools are taking the brunt of the flak for a problem primarily caused by the state.
During that same year, the Democrat trifecta approved changes to the vehicle tab fee formula which increased fees by about 20%. This means some are now paying hundreds and even a thousand dollars for yearly registration fees on vehicles that may only be a year or two old - significantly more than a car payment! In Wisconsin, the fee for the same aged vehicle would cost $85.
For those wondering, the tab fee reductions would not have resulted in a loss of transportation funding. We understand the importance of roads and bridges. That funding is important. However, we can pay for it without gouging vehicle owners in order to make those improvements.
I’m sorry to say that, in the end, both proposals failed by a single vote. All 67 Republicans voted for them and all 67 Democrats voted against this tax relief. Sixty-eight votes are needed to pass a bill off the House floor.
Minnesotans are now being bombarded with extreme fee and tax increases thanks to these unwise decisions made in 2023 - exactly what we said would happen. In these trying times, I cannot understand why at least one of my Democrat colleagues couldn’t find the courage to support either of these bills.
People deserve relief from this craziness!
LOCAL VISITS
It was so nice to have Elijah Quigley, an Albert Lea homeschool student, here participating in the High School Page Program this week.
I know Elijah and his family personally. He is an intelligent, hardworking young man of integrity, and has been very interested in our political and governmental system for years. He was a great addition to the page team this week!
I also enjoyed a visit from Robert Hoffman, of Robert Hoffman Realty in Albert Lea, along with young local entrepreneur, Jackson Cox. They were here for the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Day on the Hill.
It was so great to see these gentlemen and hear from them about local issues. Thanks for visiting!
It was a real pleasure to be invited to join the Pryor Lake Rotary Club this week for WCCO senior investigative reporter Jennifer Mayerle’s presentation about her special WCCO investigative series on sexual grooming and my anti-grooming bill HF3489. It was through Jennifer that I had the opportunity to meet grooming victim Hannah La Presto and Detective Chad Clausen last fall when the journey of this bill began. The bill continues to make good progress in the House and Senate, and I am hopeful for final passage this session. Thank you to Senator Eric Pratt for inviting me, Rotary president Mary Haugen, and most of all to Jennifer whose original story was the impetus for this important and critical legislation.
Have a good weekend,
Peggy