Interim Update
Friends and neighbors,
The standard for state government shouldn’t be complicated. It should protect the public, respect the people paying the bills, and carry out its responsibilities honestly and competently. Looking at several recent developments, Minnesota is still falling short of that standard.
Addressing Affordability in Minnesota
The cost of groceries, housing, insurance, energy, property taxes, and nearly everything else has climbed. State government can’t control every price, but it can stop adding to the burden.
After years of higher taxes and rapid spending growth, we made meaningful progress this year with property tax relief and lower tab fees. Those steps provided some needed relief, but they should be the beginning. We need to reduce the overall tax burden, rein in government spending, and allow families to keep more of what they’ve earned.
Minnesotans shouldn’t have to continually rearrange their household budgets while state government refuses to make difficult choices with its own.
Paid Leave Adds Another Cost
Minnesota’s new Paid Leave program is a clear example of government making everyday life more expensive. It’s funded through a payroll tax that comes out of employee paychecks and employer budgets.
Large corporations may be able to absorb the cost and paperwork, but a small contractor, resort, restaurant, or family-owned shop doesn’t have endless staff or money to spare. When an employee takes an extended leave, somebody still has to cover the work, and many smaller employers simply don’t have another person waiting to step in.
Workers should be able to care for their families, but the state chose a costly, one-size-fits-all program with too little concern for the people expected to pay for it. The program also needs serious oversight from the beginning. Minnesota has learned the hard way what happens when enormous government programs are created first and safeguards are treated as an afterthought.
Fighting for Accountability
Minnesota’s fraud problem grew because warnings were ignored, basic controls were missing, and accountability came far too late.
Every stolen dollar was meant for a child, a senior, a person with a disability, or another Minnesotan who truly needed help. Recovering those funds and prosecuting those responsible must remain priorities, but accountability can’t end with the people who carried out the schemes. State officials who dismissed warnings or failed to protect taxpayer dollars also need to answer for their decisions.
We’ve taken steps to strengthen fraud prevention and oversight, but rebuilding public trust will require sustained attention and a willingness to confront problems before another federal investigation forces the state to act.
A Pardon That Put a Criminal Ahead of the Public
Minnesotans also watched Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison approve a pardon for a man convicted of sexually assaulting a child.
A pardon is one of the most serious powers entrusted to state leaders. Using it in a case like this reflects a shocking failure of judgment and sends the wrong message about whose interests government is supposed to protect.
Federal authorities later revoked his legal status and removed him from the country. They did what Minnesota’s leaders should have recognized from the beginning: someone convicted of a crime this severe, who had no legal right to remain here, should not have been given another opportunity to walk freely in our communities.
Public Safety Is a Basic Responsibility
Public safety is a basic, foundational responsibility of government. That means supporting law enforcement, enforcing our laws, keeping dangerous offenders off the streets, and refusing to treat the safety of our communities as secondary to politics.
The pardon decision and the state’s broader failures of oversight are reminders of what happens when leaders lose sight of those duties. Minnesotans shouldn’t have to lower their expectations for safe communities or accept excuses when the system fails to protect them.
People across the Brainerd Lakes Area work hard for what they have. They deserve a state government that is equally serious about protecting their families, respecting every dollar it takes from them, and performing its core responsibilities well. That will continue to guide my work at the Capitol.
Looking Ahead
This will be my last legislative email of the summer because House election-year rules prohibit members from sending these updates after the post-session deadline. Those rules govern when I can send a mass email, but they don’t limit my ability to hear from you.
The concerns discussed in this update aren’t going away simply because the emails stop. I’ll continue to demand accountability for fraud and stand against decisions that put ideology ahead of public safety and the interests of Minnesota taxpayers. My office remains available, so please continue to call or write.
Sincerely,
Josh