Friends and neighbors –
There are a little more than 5 weeks left before the Legislature is required to adjourn the 2023 session, and the pace is starting to pick up. In the coming days and weeks, there will likely be long floor sessions as we debate budget bills for each issue area.
The first bills we expect to take up on the floor this week address agriculture issues, and judiciary and public safety.
Agriculture
The agriculture bill provides about $319 million over the next two years for various agriculture-related programs, including $100 million to expand broadband access throughout the state. It provides funding for several worthy efforts, including meat processing grants, dairy premium payments, biofuels grants, and noxious weed prevention grants for local governments.
But the bill is most notable for what is not included. The bill does not contain a number of controversial policy ideas, such as bans on treated seeds or bans on certain types of fertilizers, like slow-release fertilizers, and it forgoes an overhaul of the Board of Animal Health that had been discussed. This is good news, and I am happy the Democrat chair of the committee chose a path of relative bipartisanship. This bill won’t be voted on by the entire Senate until after this column is published, but I suspect the bill will have bipartisan support.
Public Safety and Judiciary
Rarely a day passes when I don’t get a call from a constituent who is worried about public safety and rising criminal threats. Over the last few years, the “Defund the Police” movement along with anti-police rhetoric has undermined the law enforcement profession, and too many criminals have been allowed to re-offend by prosecutors who aren’t holding offenders accountable.
Republicans rolled out a comprehensive public safety plan earlier this year that would support police, confront criminal threats, and hold judges and prosecutors accountable for their decisions.
Unfortunately, the Public Safety budget proposed by Senate Democrats does little to address these key issues.
Instead, it focuses on releasing criminals from prison instead of getting tough on criminals to keep us safe.
- It reduces prison time from 2/3 of an offender’s sentence to half, which would release about 7400 inmates from incarceration.
- There is $91 million in spending for nonprofits, much of it without any accountability.
- The Sentencing Guidelines Commission will begin a “comprehensive review” of sentencing guidelines. Given the commission and Gov. Walz’s recent emphasis on letting offenders out early, I am concerned about the motivation for this review.
There is nothing of consequence to support law enforcement, to apply accountability and transparency measures for judges and prosecutors, and to get tough on criminals.
The bill does have some good provisions: It has money for school safety improvements. It has funding for nonprofit anti-terrorism grants. It has funding to combat human trafficking, support firefighters and emergency preparedness, and to process sexual assault examination kits. It has funding for first responder mental health.
Ultimately, though, the bill falls far short of what we need to do to keep our communities safe.
Contact me
Your feedback, ideas, and concerns are what allow me to serve you to the best of my ability. Please share your thoughts with me any time at sen.bill.lieske@senate.mn or 651-296-5019.
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It is a privilege to serve you!