Hello,
We kicked off session the right way: by giving back part of the surplus to taxpayers. We quickly passed a $100 million tax relief bill, known as tax conformity, that will help all kinds of Minnesotans. Why were we able to do it so quickly? Because Senate Republicans actually passed it last year. With most of the legwork done, it was pretty easy to fast-track.
Unfortunately, it did not include two key provisions we have been fighting for: the total elimination of the tax on Social Securiy benefits, and a real, significant income tax rate cut. We tried to add those onto the bill, but Democrats rejected the ideas.
I am glad we got the tax conformity bill done but it is long overdue at this point. Our work is far from over though. Too many people are still feeling the pressure of rising inflation and higher prices, and our state imposes one of the highest tax burdens on its citizens. We must continue to take steps to reduce taxes and ease the financial stress on families. I’m glad we were able to make progress early in the session, but we need to do much, much more.
Driver’s licenses for Illegal Immigrants
The tax relief bill is the lone bright spot in the Democrats’ legislative agenda so far. You can expect this newsletter to feature a look into some of the ideas they are pushing through because most of them are massively out of step with working Minnesotans.
One of those ideas is a bill to provide driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. Even if you are supportive of this idea in general, the bill Democrats are pushing is a really bad one.
*It presents a real, significant threat to national security. The license itself is a state-issued identification, identical to a typical driver’s license. So bad actors could use these IDs to get onto military bases or into federal builds across the country.
*It requires that data under this bill not be shared with other agencies, like the Secretary of State. So, when combined with an automatic voter registration effort it seriously compromises our elections.
*It diminishes the meaning and value of our licenses. Fundamentally, it is a document that validates someone’s name, address, and date of birth. It has many important functions. This bill allows the use of more documents, certification from foreign courts of “competent jurisdiction”, and prevents information sharing among state agencies.
No matter what you think of the idea, this is a bad bill.
Contact me
If you have any questions or comments about the issues we are working on, please contact me anytime. My email is sen.justin.eichorn@senate.mn, or you can call me at 651-296-7079.
It is a privilege to serve you!