ST. PAUL, Minn – Today Senate GOP members of the Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy Committee pushed back after Democrats actively blocked bipartisan conversations surrounding permitting reform. 

Republican Senators Justin Eichorn (Grand Rapids), Steve Green (Fosston), Andrew Lang (Olivia), and Nathan Wesenberg (Little Falls) released the following statement: 

“Unfortunately, even under the Senate’s power-sharing agreement – when bipartisanship was supposed to be in the spotlight – the extreme, far-left agenda shut down an opportunity for cooperation on permitting reform – a bipartisan proposal.  

“At a time when nearly every Senate committee worked together to vet ideas, the environment committee stood alone in its failure to even begin the process of vetting permitting reform proposals. We gave Democrats, publicly claiming they want to work together, every opportunity to unite behind their own member’s bill, and Minnesotans deserve to know why their party continued to block our efforts to discuss this important topic.  

“Minnesotans expect us to have serious conversations about all issues, including the permitting process and any improvements we can make to unleash the economic engine in our state. Our government should be viewed as a friend, not a roadblock. But in this case, the far-left has proven itself to be just that. With a looming $5 billion deficit, it is critical that our state find ways to foster economic growth, and we must have bipartisan work to accomplish that goal.”