As I have written many times, Democrat one-party control has been immensely frustrating and concerning for those of us who believe in relationships and a collaborative government. The Democrats’ zeal for pushing through their extreme agenda using a massive last-minute garbage bill, with zero transparency or debate, was a severe blow to the integrity of our legislative process. Longstanding relationships were strained, maybe beyond repair.
However, even in this hyper-partisan environment, there were a few bright spots where reasonable minds found common ground. Two modest but important bills that I authored and co-authored will help address really important challenges facing our state.
The first bill provides funding to Riverland Community College to develop customized training programs for water and wastewater operators. Our cities, especially smaller ones, face critical shortages of these essential professionals to maintain water infrastructure. As the current operators near retirement age, the shortages will only get worse without a concerted pipeline effort.
This legislation provides $350,000 for Riverland to create a new curriculum aligned with state certification requirements, hire personnel to get the programs up and running, and support marketing, equipment, and administration. It is a wise investment to head off a looming crisis for communities across southern Minnesota.
A second bill I co-authored removes an arbitrary 180-hour training requirement that has prevented many public higher education institutions from offering third-party commercial driver’s license (CDL) testing. There is no federal or state mandate for this 180-hour minimum, yet it has been a major bottleneck.
With only 26 exam stations statewide and over 10,000 Minnesotans annually seeking new Class A or B commercial licenses, the system cannot keep up with demand. This legislation cuts through this red tape, allowing any school that offers proper CDL training to also become a third-party tester. This will rapidly increase testing capacity and help countless Minnesotans obtain these high-demand, high-paying credentials.
These two bills secured bipartisan support because they are just common sense solutions to pressing problems – the kind of practical governing Minnesotans expect.
Amidst all the partisan rancor, I was glad to find some modest areas of agreement where we could make meaningful progress for our state. I just wish there were more of those opportunities this session, rather than the endless string of Democrat power plays and hyper-partisanship.
As we look ahead, I know we have our work cut out for us to rebuild frayed relationships and restore public trust in our governing institutions. I remain deeply concerned about the divisive trajectory one-party control has put Minnesota on, but I hope that good-faith bipartisanship and problem-solving are still possible. That approach should be the norm at the Legislature, not the exception.