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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It's been a busy first week of the 2024 legislative session! I wanted to send along a few quick updates from the week and highlight some of the big issues starting to heat up at the Capitol.
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Executive Summary
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Bill Introductions
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SRO Update
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Another Tax Bill Error
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Changes to Laws on Aiding and Abetting Felony Murder
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Bill Introductions
I dropped several bills in the "hopper" this week! Here is a quick overview of the bills I introduced – many of which have been suggested to me by constituents. It is an honor to work on behalf of our district!
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HF 3653 - Medina water treatment plant expansion funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.
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HF 3654 - Requirements governing access to information on assisted living facility compliance with correction orders.
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HF 3658 - Cities required to purchase insurance for property damage claims.
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HF 3660 - Minnesota High School League required to provide coaches with eating disorder prevention education resources.
I have several more bills that I am still waiting to get back from the Revisor’s office, so I’ll keep you posted on new bill introductions as they come back.
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SRO Update
On the first day of session, Republicans tried to declare an urgency to pass language to fix the school resource officer (SRO) language. As a reminder, changes were made last session that created two different use of force standards for SROs and made it harder for SROs to keep students and teachers safe at school.
The Majority rejected our efforts to call a Special Session last August to fix this issue before students went back to school, but they promised us quick action when we came back into session in February – already half-way through the school year.
After hearings in the Education Policy and Public Safety Committee this week, the Democrat's SRO bill was "laid on the table" instead of progressing to the Ways & Means Committee, which was the expected next step. They do not currently have the votes to pass their own version of the bill.
Republicans have offered to put up the votes to pass the bipartisan language we know will solve the problem and is supported by law enforcement and many school leaders. We cannot let this critical piece of legislation get stuck in Committee. I am hopeful that we can get this resolved next week. Our students and teachers want the SROs back in school as soon as possible.
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Another Tax Bill Error
This week in the Taxes Committee, we passed a “technical corrections” bill. Over the summer, several errors were found in the tax bill which Democrats and Republicans pledged to fix. However, rather than fixing all of the errors with this bill, the Majority declined to fix the error on Net Operating Losses, which will hurt small businesses.
Last year’s tax bill raised taxes on small businesses by reducing the Net Operation Loss deduction from 80% to 70% of taxable income. This makes it harder for job creators to turn a profit, keep people employed, and make the needed investments for the business to succeed.
Unfortunately, the tax bill had an effective date for tax year 2023, instead of 2024, giving businesses no time to plan for this change. When the error was discovered, both DFL Tax Chairs agreed to fix it right away. Now they have backtracked on that promise and businesses will have to continue to live with uncertainty until we get through the rest of the session. If they do eventually fix it, companies will have to file amended returns, which can be a big cost – both financially and in terms of staff time.
I did not support reducing the Net Operating Loss Deduction or the other tax increases in last year’s bill, but the Democrat Majority passed them. The least we should do is fix the error on the effective date so businesses can plan for the tax increase – allowing it to take effect a year early due to a mistake is wrong.
You can watch my comments from the hearing here.
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Changes to Laws on Aiding and Abetting Felony Murder
This week, a disturbing story was reported by Fox 9 detailing the impact of the Majority’s policies to reduce incarceration for convicted criminals. A provision included in the public safety omnibus bill changed the laws regarding “aiding and abetting” felony murder. This change limits the conditions under which a person can be convicted of aiding and abetting to two types of felony murder:
- First-degree murder, if a person intentionally aided and abetted someone who intentionally caused a death.
- Second-degree murder, if a person is a major participant in the underlying felony and acted with extreme indifference to human life.
The new law applies retroactively, which means that the Dept. of Corrections has notified 550 people that they may be eligible to have their convictions overturned. You can read more about this law change from the House non-partisan research summary here.
Democrats continue to pass policies that allow convicted criminals to get reduced or vacated sentences for crimes for which they have already been sentenced. Their extreme policies to reduce incarceration put criminals ahead of victims and make our communities less safe. I will continue to support common sense approaches to public safety that seek justice for victims and ensure that convicted criminals serve their sentences before returning to society. I also continue to support programs to provide incarcerated persons with treatment, education, and skills training so that they can lead productive lives when they do return to society.
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Photos
Great to see Mindy & Abby from the I-94 West Chamber of Commerce & Claudia from the Maple Grove Business Association at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce annual Session Priorities dinner! 🎉
It was great spending time with homeschool families at Homeschool Day at the Capitol!
Thank you to the wonderful social work grad students who came to the Higher Ed Committee this week!
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Please Contact Me
Many of you have already been in touch to discuss your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you. Thank you for sharing your ideas! Please continue to contact me to discuss any matters to which I can be of assistance.
The best way to reach me is by email: rep.kristin.robbins@house.mn.gov. For occasional updates, you can follow my Facebook Page at @RepKristinRobbins. You can also leave a voicemail on my office number, 651-296-7806, which is checked every weekday while we are in session.
Of course, if you are coming to the Capitol, I’d love to meet you! Please reach out if you would like to set-up an in-person meeting.
Have a great weekend!
Kristin
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239 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.7806 |
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