Dear Neighbors,
Special session ended in the early hours of Thursday morning as the House and Senate approved final budget bills to avoid a government shutdown. In addition to finishing work on the budget, the legislature voted to end the peacetime emergency on Wednesday.
Over the past year, I have worked tirelessly to end Gov. Walz’s powers and end the peacetime emergency. House Republicans forced over 20 votes on ending the powers and have been putting pressure on Gov. Walz and Democrats to bring the peacetime emergency to an end and restore the Legislature's constitutional role as a co-equal branch of government.
Despite this good news, the fight is not over. We know we need to make permanent changes to the Chapter 12 Emergency Powers statute to rein in the Governor and make sure future governors can't abuse emergency powers like Gov. Walz has for the past year.
As for budget bills, while I was unable to support many bills, I was nevertheless pleased that many of the extreme provisions being pushed by Democrats were not included in final agreements.
Highway 10 Funding
The transportation budget bill included $30 million in funding for a lane expansion on U.S. Highway 10 in Wadena County!
This is great news for folks in our area that depend on Highway 10 to get to work, deliver goods and services, or those that are passing through our community on their way to the cabin. I have been working hard to secure funding for this project and I am grateful that we were able to get the job done. I look forward to construction starting sometime soon.
Staying in Touch
I hope you are able to spend time with family and loved ones this weekend as we celebrate Independence Day. We are blessed to live in the greatest country on Earth and we should make sure that we never take our freedoms and liberties for granted.
Please reach out to me to share your questions, thoughts, or concerns. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-4293 or via email at rep.john.poston@house.mn.
Happy Independence Day!
John