Friends and neighbors,
On Friday the Senate approved a public safety budget agreement. For this session we have referred to it as a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ bill because it will allow thousands of convicted criminals, including those who have committed violent crimes and young offenders who have committed terrible acts, to be eligible for early release. The House-Senate conference committee’s version of the bill is even worse than the Senate Democrats’ version.
The conference committee, which had no Republican members on it, removed funding for three really important provisions: grants for mental health and wellness programs for first responders, additional staff for school safety centers, and grants for law enforcement to acquire body cameras. The conference committee disregarded a provision that categorically excludes pedophilia as a protected class – a provision that received a unanimous vote on the House. What does that mean? It means that pedophiles cannot be discriminated against, just like the laws that prohibit discrimination based on race and gender.
The agreement also includes two contentious gun control measures: red flag laws and background checks. I have received numerous comments and concerns about these two issues. I do not support any laws that infringe on the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
What else does this bill contain?
- Changes to landlord-tenant law and rental eviction record expungement, including limitations against crime-free lease terms. This makes it harder for landlords to provide a safe place to live.
- Legislative approval of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission’s five-year felony probation cap, plus retroactive application to any sentence already in place in Minnesota
- It puts the crime of carjacking into statute, but does not add any new penalty. A useless change.
- It reduces sentences for juveniles charged as adults
- It reduces prison time from 2/3 of an offender’s sentence to only half, which would make 92% of our prison population eligible for early release
- Significant new spending for nonprofit services, the vast majority of it has very little accountability
This bill will result in the early release of many more individuals from prison. Despite their campaign promises to prioritize public safety, Democrats are pushing for legislation that is lenient on violent criminals, fails to support law enforcement, and encroaches upon the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.
Democrat approach to paid leave is the wrong one
On May 8, the Senate approved a bill aiming to establish a statewide program for paid family and medical leave, which has sparked controversy. Both Republicans and Democrats agree that paid family leave is a valuable goal and a benefit that should be accessible to all. But the Democrat approach to this issue is the wrong one.
Their bill places a heavy burden on businesses by introducing an expensive new mandate, which will particularly affect small businesses. Their proposal significantly increases spending and creates an enormous new government bureaucracy, including 400 new employees. Additionally, the bill includes a new payroll tax on workers on employers of over a billion dollars each year. And if their projections prove to be inaccurate, which I suspect they will be, taxpayers may have to cover the extra costs to ensure the program remains financially sustainable.
I support expanding access to paid family and medical leave. But this is the wrong approach. We have offered a better solution that will achieve our goals without the tax increases and bloated government. We propose working in collaboration with the private sector to simplify the process for more employers to provide paid leave and to improve the existing programs already in place.
If you are curious about our plan, you can read more: here https://www.mnsenaterepublicans.com/senate-passes-colemans-innovative-paid-family-leave-legislation-to-expand-access-and-support-minnesota-families/
Congratulations to Randolph High School!
Congratulations to Randolph High School, which recently received a grant from The Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council (MAELC)! Randolph’s agriculture department, led by Jessica Bester, received a $15,412 grant for their project entitled, “Updating Farm to Table curriculum materials.”
The purpose of their project was to improve the “Farm to Table” curriculum throughout the agriculture, food, and natural resource education program and update the plant-growing materials, including hydroponics equipment and a storage unit.
Since its creation in 1997, MAELC has awarded over $22.1 million in competitive grants, scholarships, sponsored projects and awards to Minnesota agricultural education and literacy programs. The impact that this grant money has had on local agricultural education programs is significant. Without these funds, many schools would not be able to offer high-quality agricultural education courses.
Contact me
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It is a privilege to serve you!