|
Dear Neighbors,
We are in the final weeks of session and are hearing many small bills before the large omnibus bills hit the House floor. This week, however, was somewhat short due to the Passover break on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday, we reconvened to hear six bills that were not very controversial. Among them were a couple of Republican bills, including Rep. Wiens HF 3304, which aims to address concerns regarding sentencing and probation of veterans involved in the criminal justice system. Specifically, it requires reporting of veteran sentencing and progress of probation.
I am happy that some of my Republican colleagues have gotten the opportunity to pass their bills. However, I find it disappointing that good ideas are generally being ignored simply because they were authored by a Republican.
For example, HF 0525 makes changes to local election laws to better represent farmers. The bill would allow landowners with land that is in several counties or towns, to vote in referendums even if their actual house is not in that community. The reason is that it would give that landowner the opportunity to vote on tax increases on their property, and taxes for that specific other portion of land in a different jurisdiction. For example, if, let's say, you have a field that is partly in the Byron ISD and partly in the Kasson ISD, but your house is on the Kasson side; As the law currently stands, if Bryon holds a referendum to increase taxes, you could not vote on that provision even though you would get a tax bill from it. It’s taxation without representation. My bill would have fixed this issue, allowing landowners the ability to vote on referendums or levies, but not on other races such as local races for mayor, city council, and county commissioner, to allow a say in the taxation of their land without compromising the integrity of candidate elections.
As this session marches toward its conclusion, I hope to continue to highlight some more of these bills that were ignored by the majority. Make sure to keep an eye out for important legislation. Due to the arrest of Senator Mitchell, the Senate has pulled all bills from the floor, so there wasn’t much action this week. However, next week will ramp up quickly to make up for lost time. I hope important legislation isn’t short-changed due to the speed we will be moving.
Have a great weekend,
Duane
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
|
