Legislative Update, February 12, 2020

February 12, 2020

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Tuesday was the first day of the 2020 Legislative Session. We began by honoring the three National Guardsmen who died tragically in a helicopter crash in December. Keep the guardsmen and their families in your prayers: Chief Warrant Officer James A. Rogers Jr., age 28; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Charles P. Nord, 30; and Sgt. Kort M. Plantenberg, 28. We also honored Rep. Diane Loeffler who passed away from cancer in November.

Lead on Government Operations

On Tuesday it was announced that I will be taking over as the Republican Lead on the Government Operations Committee due to the retirement of my colleague Rep. Nick Zerwas.

I am excited to take on this new responsibility in the Minnesota House. It has always been a great honor to represent our community in the legislature and I will continue to do my very best to make our community and our state a great place to live, work, and a raise a family.

On our first day, we heard a bill to address insulin affordability in our state. This is an issue that we have been hearing about for some time and I do believe there is a bipartisan solution to the problem.

Session Outlook

My priority this session will be to use the $1.3 billion budget surplus to provide tax conformity and relief for Minnesotans and improve public safety. We also need to get to the bottom of the problem and fix the issues of waste, fraud, and abuse that has plagued the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS.)

This summer, Minnesotans were frustrated with the endless news of chaos, misspending, and mismanagement at DHS. Rather than forcing taxpayers to pay even more and cover the tens of millions Minnesota owes to the federal government, DHS should take responsibility for the mess they created and find those savings within their $17 billion budget. We will also push for an independent forensic audit of DHS, an idea endorsed by Governor Walz, that will weed out even more waste and fraud.

Please Stay in Touch

Please continue to stay in touch to share your thoughts or concerns. My phone number is 651-296-9236 or you can email me at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Have a great week!

Duane

247 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.9236