Friends and Neighbors,

We are nearing the constitutionally mandated end date for the Legislative Session. The Legislature must finish its work by Sunday at midnight, but we have a lot left to do! 

Responding to the “Tyler Settlement” 

Before the end of Session, the Senate will be taking action on the “Tyler Settlement” that addresses a Supreme Court case regarding a Minnesota resident, Geraldine Tyler, who lost her home due to unpaid property taxes (tax-forfeited property). The County sold the home and kept all the proceeds, even though the amount exceeded Tyler’s property tax debt. The Court decided that our state law regarding the practice of keeping excess proceeds from the sale of the home was unconstitutional, and going forward, counties cannot keep excess funds after selling properties for unpaid taxes.  

Now, the Legislature needs to act to make our law constitutional as well as assist counties affected by the decision. Itasca County happens to be the second most affected county in the state, and I look forward to working toward a solution to prevent future lawsuits and prevent our counties from facing financial strains.

Environment Bill 

The Senate is set to take up the environment bill in the next few days. Democrats included a controversial Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act that creates a program holding packaging producers responsible for recycling costs of packaging waste. These new regulations have been shown to increase grocery prices by $36-$57 per month.  

I opposed these restrictions that will crush Minnesotans with more price increases on top of inflation and $10 billion in new taxes passed last year.  

However, the bill includes some good pieces that will help our local communities, including my bill to reimburse sheriff’s offices for costs incurred during rescues of individuals who are stranded or have fallen through frozen lakes. These types of rescues happen all the time, but they’ve never received reimbursement for ice rescues as they would with a water rescue. This is an easy way for us to be a better partner for our counties and sheriffs.

Justin D. Eichorn

Minnesota Senate District 6