Friends and neighbors –
This is probably the quickest start to a legislative session I can remember. Senate Democrats are rushing several significant pieces of legislation through the process – often without the vetting required to ensure these things don’t have flaws and unintended consequences.
Senate Republicans are working hard to improve these bills, but many – if not most – of our suggestions are being ignored. It makes me really concerned about what the future holds.
Senate approves $100 million tax relief bill
The first significant bill of the session was a $100 million tax relief bill that aligns our state tax rules with federal law. This bill was actually fully vetted already because Republicans did most of the work on it last session. In fact, we had an end-of-session agreement last year that included tax conformity provisions. House Democrat leaders refused to bring it up for a vote.
I am glad we got it done right away this session and proud of the work Republicans did to get it ready. But there is still much to be done. With inflation and prices continuing to rise for many residents, and one of the highest tax burdens in the country, we must continue to find ways to lower taxes and help ease the financial strain that families are facing.
One easy idea to put money in people’s pockets: eliminate the double tax on Social Security benefits. A number of Democrats on the campaign trail said they supported it, but when we tried to add it to the tax conformity bill they rejected it. It was disappointing, but I won’t stop working until that is done.
Transportation Committee hears Driver’s License for All bill
On January 18, the Senate’s Transportation Committee heard a bill to make driver’s licenses available to all Minnesotans, regardless of their immigration status. As the committee’s lead Republican, I did a deep dive into the bill.
It’s actually an idea I support in principle. Making driver’s licenses available to illegal immigrants would help a lot of hardworking folks in our area, and police officers support it because it will keep our roads safer and help them verify identities. Those are good things.
Unfortunately, when you look at the bill in depth you won’t see a common sense approach to this complicated issue. You’ll see an expansive bill that goes far, far beyond a simple public safety fix. It presents real national security threats, it destroys the meaning and value of a driver’s license, it opens up opportunities for fraud and abuse, and it compromises our elections.
The bill still has several more committee hearings ahead of it, so we’ll keep working to make it better. But if Democrats continue to ignore our legitimate concerns, I will be voting no even though the idea itself has merit. We still have to make sure we are smart about these things.
Contact me
If you have any questions about any issues we are working on at the legislature, feel free to contact me any time!
- Email: sen.john.jasinski@senate.mn
- Phone: 651-296-0284.
- Office: 2227 Minnesota Senate Building, 95 University Ave, St. Paul
It is a privilege to serve you!