Session Preview
Session began this past Tuesday, and we hit the ground running. There were many committee hearings even on the first day as legislators began work on the new bills that were introduced. Heading into the 2020 session, we began with a budget reserve at an all-time high and a budget surplus of $1.3 billion.
Given that we have a $1.3 billion surplus, I plan to prioritize tax relief for Minnesota families. Last session, the Democrats pushed $12 billion in tax hikes, including a 20 cent per gallon gas tax and a $1.8 billion tax hike on our health care. I plan to oppose any tax hikes the Democrats pursue this session, because there is absolutely no reason to raise taxes on Minnesotans when we have over a billion-dollar surplus and the cash reserves are at an all-time high.
I also plan to focus on accountability in the Department of Human Services (DHS). You may have seen some of the many headlines over the last year detailing tens of millions of dollars in fraud and waste due to mismanagement and a lack of oversight at DHS. DHS needs to take responsibility for the problems they have created and find the money they owe the federal government within their $17 billion budget. Another accountability tool we will pursue is a full, forensic audit of DHS – an idea that has been endorsed by Governor Walz. We need to see how pervasive the fraud and waste is. We plan to pursue changes and tools that will bring accountability and clarity to the situation at DHS so they stop wasting the taxpayer dollars that are supposed to go toward making people's lives better.
An area I have been particularly involved in on the committees I serve is public safety. There was testimony last week that crime was at an all-time high on the Light Rail in 2019, along with a spike in assaults, robberies, and murders across the Metro area. I plan to work on initiatives that support law enforcement and reduce crime to keep Minnesotans safe in their communities. I also introduced a bill that is very important to all who have been victims of rape and those who believe in justice for victims. My new bill, introduced on the first day of session, begins with mandatory testing of all unrestricted rape kits, which are kits that the victim gave permission to test. The bill also includes centralized storage and a 30 month retention period for all restricted rape kits, and an online database where victims can check the status of their kit and give consent to have their kit tested to start the process of filing a criminal case.
Governor Walz recently spoke about the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault's 2020 Action Week and voiced his support for the statewide tracking system and centralized storage portion of my bill. To hear his message on why, click HERE.
House Public Information Services interviewed me recently about our community and session priorities. If you'd like to watch the interview, click HERE.
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