Dear Neighbor,
Greetings from the Capitol, where we are wrapping up votes on preliminary approval for omnibus finance bills House Democrats have assembled. Here are some of the latest notes from St. Paul:
What an honor!
It truly was an honor for our son, Dustin, to serve as a guest chaplain in the House chamber Thursday, leading the body in prayer to start that day’s floor session. Dustin is a pastor in Brooklyn Park and he delivered a great message of hope, strength and wisdom – things we can never have enough of at the Capitol.
Nursing homes under-funded
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.
This is a major issue that impacts all residents of District 11A one way or another, at some point in their lives. It is a major disservice to our people who rely on long-term care – and to the essential workers who provide these crucial services – for the House majority to so severely under-fund this portion of the state budget. The fact this is happening at a time Democrats are sending the rest of the state spending skyrocketing is just added insult.
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 inability to fully staff our nursing homes then places added strains on hospitals, with nearly 20 percent of their bed space taken up by people who could be better served recovering in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
Fortunately, this bill needs to go through a conference committee before a vote on final passage can take place. There is still time to make improvements that provide our long-term care residents and workers with the support they need and deserve. I will continue pushing for that to happen and encourage citizens of District 11A to reach out to me with their thoughts on this matter so we can work together.”
First & Second Amendment concerns
The House majority Democrats this week passed a public safety bill (S.F. 2909) that has provisions of concern regarding our constitutional rights under both the First Amendment and Second Amendment.
One measure creates a hate-incident registry where the state would compile a government database of perceived “bad speech” that falls 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 “hate incident” 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.
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.
Education bill
House Democrats also recently approved an education omnibus bill (H.F. 2497) that puts mandates over students and takes away local control from school districts. Democrats are selling this bill as a historic investment in schools but, with all of the added mandates and administrative bureaucracy, many districts actually will be left with more budget challenges than they already are experiencing.
We need to do better to provide our local schools with flexibility to do what’s best for their particular situation at the local level. Needs vary from district to district across the state. Our schools need funding that is flexible to meet priorities set by parents. Let’s focus on setting measurable goals, and then getting out of the way to allow our children to achieve success.
There is less than one month remaining before the Legislature is set to adjourn, so I’ll be back soon with more. We’ll see how all these omnibus finance bills look when they come back from conference committees and are put to votes on final passage. It’s a good time to pray for positive results that help all District 11A residents – and all Minnesotans.
Have a good weekend and stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Jeff