Week of April 23rd – 27th
Senate Takes Up Supplemental Budget
On Thursday this week, the Minnesota Senate took up this year’s supplemental budget bill. An amalgam of provisions from all subject areas, this is probably the most expansive bill of the biennium. For nearly twelve hours we had thought-provoking debates on a wide variety of subjects, and I would like to focus in on three of them in this week’s newsletter. These were our discussions on Southwest Light Rail, Gun Violence Prevention, and Academic Balance. The topic of Southwest Light Rail was the first of these to come up.
I cannot believe that we are still fighting over Southwest Light Rail in Minnesota. This year’s supplemental budget contains a provision that would effectively end the project, and forfeit one billion dollars in federal funds. I offered an amendment to remove this language, but it was voted down along party lines. You can view a video of me speaking to this amendment by clicking HERE.
A few hours later, Senator Ron Latz of St. Louis Park offered two amendments on gun violence prevention, both of which I am a co-author on. The first was on Universal Background Checks, which are supported by 9 out of every 10 Minnesotans according to a recent Star Tribune poll. Despite this support, every single member of the GOP majority voted against even having a debate on this subject. The same was true when Latz’s second amendment came up, governing Gun Violence Protection Orders. It is a shame to see this kind of partisanship take over when our kids’ lives are on the line. This fight is not over though, and we still have 3 weeks left to put party politics aside and get something done.
It was not until late into the evening that we got to the E-12 Education portion of the supplemental budget. At 8:45pm, Senator Melisa Franzen of Edina offered an amendment to remove a provision labeled as Academic Balance. This legislation, if signed into law, would prevent any teacher from expressing their beliefs in the classroom. As a social studies teacher, I can tell you that this is nearly impossible. Exposing students to a wide range of ideas and enabling their critical thinking skills requires freedom of expression. Under this provision, social studies teachers would hold back from teaching controversial subjects for fear of retribution.
Additionally, this law would effectively give students a license to discriminate against their peers. If a young person tells their classmate that they are less than a person because of their race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, the teacher would be powerless to put a stop to that behavior. Schools should be safe spaces for all students, and we would be severely hurting our next generation by allowing this kind of bullying to go unchecked.
In the end, this amendment failed along party lines, as did most of the DFL-proposed amendments. The supplemental budget passed off the floor without a single DFL senator voting in favor of it. Session is not over though, and I know that if we continue working we can find common ground to help improve the lives of all Minnesotans.
Discussing Gun Violence Prevention with Minnesota Students
A number up senators and I met with Students Demand Action on Monday to discuss the nuances of their policy priorities relating to gun violence prevention.
These young people exhibited insightfulness and wisdom that is well beyond their years. Their visit came on the heels of last week’s rally organized by Moms Demand Action. You can view my thoughts on that rally by clicking HERE.
Two of the participants were students at Eden Prairie High School. Katie Nowak and Catherine Barrett stopped by my office after the large group discussion and told me about their Keep It Relevant project, and effort to sustain a continuous protest at the capitol until meaningful action is taken on gun violence prevention. I am incredibly proud to call them constituents and the leaders of our future generations.
A Visit From and Great Friend and Colleague
This week I was also visited by Education Minnesota’s legislative action coalition. With them was Angie Roesner, a teacher at Eden Prairie High School whom I taught with for over 20 years.
Elliot Simonson Visits the Capitol
This week, Patti and my daughter, Erica, brought our grandson Elliot over to St Paul to visit the capitol. He’s already looking like he’s going to be a senator someday.