|
|
Friends,
I hope you had a great summer and a nice start to fall and the school year. I wanted to send along a quick update on the recent Mini-Session, and other issues that have been in the news.
Mini-Session in Review: Ignoring DHS
The Minnesota House went on the road last week to southeastern Minnesota. This was an opportunity to listen to Minnesotans who normally wouldn't make it to St. Paul, while also getting a head start on tackling some of the biggest issues facing the legislature.
Unfortunately, House Democrats chose to ignore the continuing and worsening mess at the Department of Human Services. DHS was under fire over the last few years for failing to uncover and eliminate fraud and waste in the childcare assistance program.
However, the last few months have been even worse for the state's largest agency: a mass exodus of top leadership, $80 million in documented waste & mismanagement, and then just last week it was revealed via a federal audit that DHS paid out $3.7 million to care for Minnesotans who had already passed away. Despite all this, House Democrats have refused our calls for hearings and ignored our calls for a full audit of DHS. This included during the HHS Hearings that were held during the mini-session. In fact, if it wasn't for our press conference before the hearing, the mess at DHS would have been completely unmentioned at the mini-session.
Mini Session Interview
I also sat down with Rochester's KAAL-TV on a wide range of issues, specifically focusing on how the legislature needs to step up and provide oversight for DHS.
From $80 million in mismanagement just since the legislative session ended to the exodus of top leadership and long-running waste, fraud, and abuse, DHS must do better. Its mission to help the most vulnerable among us is too important to continue this chaos. You can watch that interview here or click below.
|
|
|
Farmer & Small Business Tax
A bad tax law approved by House Democrats and signed into law by Governor Walz last session is now costing farmers thousands of dollars.
Specifically, farmers and other business owners who traded equipment are having that trade value counted as income and can likely expect a bill from the Department of Revenue, and it won’t be cheap.
We are hearing from farmers who are in shock by the amount they will owe come tax time. House Republicans warned people during the last session that the lack of conformity was going to be a real problem and now, unfortunately, those concerns are coming back to bite farmers and small business owners.
A bill to fix this is currently being prepared and I will be working with my colleagues to address this on DAY ONE of the 2020 Session.
|
High School Page Program
The Minnesota House High School Page Program is a great way for high school juniors to learn and get some hands-on experience with the legislative process.
Twelve week-long slots are available from early February until mid-May and stipends are available to offset expenses.
The deadline to apply is November 21. Click here for more details.
|
|
Natural Gas Infrastructure Improvement
Xcel Energy has almost completed it's $7.7 million in improvements to its natural gas system following outages last winter. During the polar vortex last winter, almost 200 Xcel customers, including some in our community, were left without power as temperatures reached - 30°.
These upgrades should prevent a repeat of this past winter's dangerous situation and Xcel will not be charging ratepayers for the improvements. You can read more about the fixes here.
Staying in Touch
Please contact me if you or your family need assistance, or to share your views and feedback. I’d love to hear from you, so please stay in touch. You can reach me via email at rep.kurt.daudt@house.mn or by phone at 651-296-5364.
Have a great fall!
Kurt
|
|
 |
|
/RepKurtDaudt
|
|
267 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.5364 |
|
|
|
