Friends and neighbors,

We just wrapped up the third week of the legislative session, and it’s been moving quickly. Recently, Senate Republicans rolled out our ‘Minnesotans First’ agenda which focuses on helping Minnesotans with the high cost of living, reining in wasteful spending and stopping tax increases, holding government accountable, keeping our communities safe, and putting students first, strengthening families, and protecting children.  

For the past two years, Minnesotans have been run over under one-party rule in Saint Paul. You’ve been slapped with $10 billion in new taxes, seen nearly $1 billion lost to fraud, and your entire $18 billion budget surplus has been replaced with a looming $5 billion deficit. Democrats have left many Minnesotans behind in their pursuit for complete control of our state government.  

Our Republican agenda prioritizes the real needs of Minnesotans and will deliver relief from rising costs, rampant fraud and promote safe, secure communities. Our agenda includes bills that will address:

• The high costs of energy, health care and housing. Senate Republicans will also work to stop tax increases and grow the economy with solutions to help Main Street businesses. Minnesotans will keep more of their hard-earned dollars, reducing the impacts of inflation for families.  
• Stopping tax increases is a top priority, and Senate Republicans will not vote for a budget that increases taxes on Minnesotans. Instead, we will aim to reduce the tax burden of working Minnesotans, prioritize responsible spending on Minnesotans, and look for ways to make our government more efficient.
• Holding government accountable for waste, fraud, and abuse by supporting proposals for a statewide Office of Inspector General, strengthening our Office of the Legislative Auditor to annually review agency efforts, and mandating agencies follow through on anti-fraud efforts. 
• Tackling public safety and crime by promoting policies that support law enforcement’s responsibilities, propose tougher penalties on violent and repeat offenders, and invest in proven crime prevention strategies.
• Putting students first, strengthening families, and protecting children by pausing expensive state mandates, adjusting student funding to address disparities, and addressing safety concerns and parental notifications in schools. 

As part of our mission to deliver relief from high energy costs, we are looking to find ways to unlock additional energy sources. I presented a bill this week to lift the cap on hydroelectric energy sources in Minnesota and get us on track to do just that.   

The bill aims to allow large-scale hydroelectric plants to be counted as carbon-free in order to reach the extremely challenging goal of being 100% carbon-free by 2040 which was set by the 2023 legislature.  

Energy costs and grid reliability are a growing concern for Minnesotans and producers alike, and with all of the water resources we have here in Minnesota, this is something that we should be including in our all-of-the-above energy approach.