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It was another busy week in St. Paul! The DFL released their budget targets, there was action on gun control bills in both the House and the Senate, and last night, the DFL passed their “trans refuge” bill off the House floor.
Gun Bill Update
The gun control bills are moving in both the House and the Senate. Yesterday the Senate Judiciary committee passed several gun control proposals including red flag laws and universal background checks. More gun control will be heard in the Senate public safety bill today and these bills will also be heard in the House in the coming weeks. I’m opposed to these measures and believe that we need to invest in solutions that improve public safety and don’t infringe on a constitutional right like mental health and substance abuse treatment.
Budget Targets
This week the DFL unveiled their coordinated budget targets. These targets are spending targets given to each committee, and these targets are on top of the base budget of over $50 billion. The House DFL, Senate DFL, and Governor all agreed to these targets without taking any input from GOP leaders.
The budget targets show that the DFL intends to spend an additional $17.9 billion and raise the base budget to a whopping $70 billion. You read that right, they will be spending the entire surplus, raising taxes to pay for it, and increasing the size of government by an incredible 25%. This level of increase is reckless and unsustainable. I think that we need to give the surplus back instead of spending it and I will continue working to give the surplus back to the taxpayers by advocating for policies like the Social Security tax elimination.
Trans Refuge Bill
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Last night the DFL passed their “transgender refuge” bill off the House floor. This bill aims to make Minnesota a sanctuary state for minors to get “gender affirming care,” including puberty blockers and irreversible surgeries.
My issue with this bill is that it focuses on minors, and limiting or ignoring parental rights. This bill clearly isn’t aimed at adults making decisions, it’s aimed at children in other states whose families may not even be informed or asked for consent for their child’s treatment. The bill has no age limits, no guardrails like requiring parental consent, no limitations on the types of treatment minors can receive, and usurps parents’ rights by allowing a child to be brought to Minnesota (not even by a parent or family member!) to receive any treatment the child may have been talked into having.
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Please Stay in Touch
Please continue to stay in touch to share your thoughts or concerns. My phone number is 651-296-9236 or you can email me at rep.duane.quam@house.mn.
Have a great weekend!
 Duane
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247 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.9236 |
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