Legislative Update

Good morning,

I’m happy to be back in our home district visiting with neighbors and attending our great summer events here in southern Minnesota!

On Tuesday, June 3rd, I attended the annual Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric meeting with Representative Mueller and Senator Jasinski. As always, General Manager Syd Briggs and his team were fantastic hosts!

Later in the afternoon, Jeanne and I attended the annual Taste of the Farm event, at the Waseca County Fair Grounds, and the City of Waseca City Council meeting. At the City Council meeting we witnessed the Public Safety Annual Awards presentations. It was great to see medically retired Waseca Police Officer Arik Matson present the Arik Matson Legacy Service Award to Detective Courtney Hartle. As many of you know, Arik was injured in January 2020 during an on-duty shooting which left him with a traumatic brain injury.

Last night, Jeanne and I enjoyed music and conversation at the Concert in the Park, in Owatonna’s Central Park. Attendance, food, and drink were in abundance. Consider getting out and participating in these and many other community events this summer!

Back in St. Paul

I’m glad to share an update on where things stand in St. Paul. While a special session has not yet been officially called, we are actively preparing for it. Discussions are ongoing behind the scenes, and we expect to be ready to move forward in the next few days. Once final agreements are reached on the outstanding issues, we anticipate the Governor will call us back to the Capitol to complete the work. I am ready and eager to return and get the work done for Minnesotans.

Working Group Updates

Since adjournment a few weeks ago, our conference committees have continued their work in ‘working groups.’ Several of our working groups have agreed to bill language, which will not be introduced on the House floor until the special session, but I can share some of the provisions with you now that the reports have been published. If you are interested, I encourage you to look into the reports as well, and I will attach the links for your convenience.

Commerce

There are several good provisions in the commerce bill that will eventually return to the House floor, including the following:

• CanRenew Grant Cuts: will slash over $17 million from a reparations-style cannabis grant program, and will cut future funding by more than half.
• Medicare Supplement Reform: will close loopholes from a 2023 DFL law by adding switching restrictions and penalties to prevent plan gaming and adverse selection.
• Guaranteed Renewability Fix: will give insurers the ability to close low-enrollment or outdated plans without needing government approval.

Environment

And here are the key provisions that we fought for and got in the environment bill:

• Shotgun Zone Elimination: this will end shotgun-only restrictions in southern and western Minnesota.
• Continuous Bass Fishing Season: will end seasonal restrictions for bass fishing statewide.
• Disabled Veterans License Fee Reduction: will reduce hunting and fishing license fees to $5 for veterans with 50–99% service-connected disabilities.
• Permitting Reform: will tighten timelines and accountability for MPCA permits, mandate electronic submissions and quicker completeness reviews, streamline the permitting process for businesses, and more.

Coffee with Tom

Since our special session has not been called, I will be able to attend our ‘Coffee with Tom’ meeting in Owatonna at the Chamber of Commerce from noon – 1:00pm today. I look forward to getting together to hear your thoughts on the legislature and how I can best support you!

I want to hear you

I am always here to listens to concerns or ideas of my constituents. I can be reached via email rep.tom.sexton@house.mn.gov or phone 651-296-5368. 

If you would like to contact Rep. Sexton, DO NOT reply to this email. Please reach out directly to rep.tom.sexton@house.mn.gov.