This week brought many bright young minds visiting the capitol to learn about the history of our state and how government works. Included was Anthony who came down with a student group from Long Prarie. I always look forward to student trips and sharing the importance of civic engagement. Let me know if you will be at the capitol and stop by my office to say hello.
The big piece of legislation we debated this week was the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act. This legislation would give workers up to 24 weeks of paid time off per year, 12 for personal medical leave and 12 for caring for another family member. Unfortunately, this benefit would need to be funded by a nearly 3 billion dollar increase in payroll tax. This will be a massive burden for our business community and is likely to lead to even more price increases being passed on to consumers. With inflation already at a record high government should not be enacting policies that will make it worse and damage household budgets even more.
As an alternative, my colleague Representative Baker unveiled his MN FaMLI proposal that would offer a similar benefit without the huge financial burden and onerous regulations. You can Watch his video unveiling the plan here.
Thursday was the National Day of Prayer with a sizable gathering on the capitol lawn of Minnesotans coming together to pray for a better future for our state. Even when things can feel overwhelming here it is important to remember that God has a plan.
Charities continue to be concerned about the changes that are coming to e-pull tabs that will result in major revenue shortfalls for them and the small businesses that host charitable gambling. I attended the rally and press conference hosted by Allied Charities of Minnesota and Representative Hudella to show the majority how important this is to so many Minnesotans. Fox 9 had some great coverage of the issue if you would like to learn more here.
Conference committees have been in full swing this week which signals that this legislative session is almost to the end. While I am not serving on any of these joint committees they provide one last opportunity for our Republican members to influence the final bills that will head to the governor’s desk. Unfortunately, House Republicans have been shut out of three of these conference committees in Democrat’s continued abuse of trifecta control of state government. I believe it is a terrible precedent to set not having all of the perspectives gathered to provide input on these finalized pieces of legislation.
With just over two weeks left in this year’s legislative session, the final budget is coming into view with a nearly 40% increase in government spending and over $9.5 billion in new taxes and fees. With so many Minnesotans facing difficult personal budgets I find it very concerning that our state is continuing the trend of out-of-control spending.
What are some of the legislative priorities you would like to see cross the finish line in the last few weeks this year?
