Dear Neighbor,
Our First Amendment right to free speech is protected by our Second Amendment right to bear arms. These are cornerstones on which our state and nation were founded, yet House Democrats approved a bill this week that threatens to weaken each.
Before we get into the details, I want to make clear I am an ardent supporter of our constitutional rights. I will continue fighting to uphold them and push back against undermining efforts every time.
Back to the bill itself, which the House majority approved this week: It is a public safety package (S.F. 2909) which, again, includes provisions of major concern for both our First Amendment and Second Amendment rights.
One measure in the bill creates a bad-speech registry where the state would create a government database of perceived “hate incidents” that fall short of criminal acts. To be clear, we’re not talking about “hate crimes” because those already are tracked.
In other words, the bill gives state authority to collect data about crimes of bias that have not been reported to law enforcement – so there is no documentation that the event happened – but people still could be placed in a registry.
The bill also features anti-Second Amendment language from two controversial gun control bills: H.F. 14 (universal gun registration) and H.F. 15 (red flag). I support our law enforcement officers’ concerns about provisions that are unworkable and unrealistic to enforce on the streets. Instead of addressing the root causes of violent crime, this bill will create strict and impractical hurdles for law-abiding Minnesotans seeking to exercise their Second Amendment rights. Criminals looking to acquire firearms will not follow the complex new process laid out in the proposal and it will do nothing to stop the flow of firearms among criminals.
Let’s hope a conference committee does a major overhaul and eliminates these provisions before the bill comes back for a vote on final passage. Our efforts should be focused on enforcing the numerous laws we already have governing firearm transfers before the Legislature creates new ones that will harm law-abiding citizens and are unlikely to deter those with bad intentions.
Nursing homes shorted funding
House Democrats approved a bill this week which ignores a long-term care crisis in our state by severely underfunding this portion of the state budget.
The House Human Services Finance omnibus package (S.F. 2934) came to the floor accounting for just .01 percent of the Democrats’ $72 billion budget proposal that consumes the state’s $19 billion surplus and increases state General Fund spending by 40 percent.
Not long ago, both sides of the aisle would have jumped at the idea of fully funding nursing homes. Today, that concept doesn’t seem to get the attention of the Democrats’ special interest groups so it’s off the table. This gives us further proof the Democrat party is more interested in sending political paybacks to its radical base than doing what’s right for Minnesotans. The fact Minnesota’s House majority proposes sending state spending into orbit but also is unwilling to adequately support our seniors and the people who care for them is disgraceful.
Meanwhile, Minnesota is in the midst of a “silver tsunami,” with more than 1.3 million state residents aged 65 or older. As these residents age, their need for care grows and it is unfortunate to see Minnesota is not keeping up with these needs. A reported 2,597 nursing home beds have been taken out of service in Minnesota since 2020, the equivalent of shuttering 52, 50-bed homes. The long-term care industry in Minnesota, currently is operating with a worker shortage of 53,000 and that, in the month of October alone, 11,000 elderly residents were turned away from nursing homes – largely due to lack of staff.
The best we can say right now is thank goodness this bill is headed to a conference committee where there’s still a glimmer of hope the bill will be improved before it is considered for final passage. This is the time when it’s most important to make sure legislators know where we stand on this issue so a just outcome can be achieved.
Tax bill
The Democrats’ tax bill (H.F. 1938) was among the last omnibus finance packages to come to the floor for a vote on preliminary approval and there are some provisions of major concern. House Republicans continue working to eliminate a measure I mentioned in my last newsletter that would end electronic pull tabs as we know them, dealing a severe blow to local charity organizations/non-profits. Overall, this bill includes $2.2 billion of the Democrats' $9.5 billion in proposed tax increases, again, at a time the state has a massive surplus.
I’ll come back with a closer look at this bill soon. Until then, please have a good weekend and let me know how I can help.
Sincerely,
Ben