Two Thursdays ago was Homeschool Day at the Capitol, and it was amazing to see so many passionate and dedicated homeschool families at the annual rally. Last year, we saw Democrats push deeply troubling anti-homeschool provisions, but you packed the statehouse, stood up for your rights and core freedoms, and stopped the legislation in its tracks. I will continue to join you in fighting for our families and students.

A good way to strengthen our democracy is to guard against undue outside influence in the elections process. This is one of the reasons we have strong campaign finance laws and a State Public Campaign Subsidy that treats all candidates equally.

Senator Liz Boldon—DFL, gave sponsor testimony on SF3942 this week, a bill that turns the intent and legacy of the State Subsidy on its head by authorizing municipally elected officials to create a taxpayer-funded PAC-lite, which will direct tax dollars to candidates supported by the community without any guardrails.

If that sounds fishy, just wait, these same elected leaders will decide which candidates for office have the “support of the community.” Its similarities to the State Public Subsidy end in the title, SF3942 does not given even the semblance of fairness. 

Sen. Boldon says the bill is not a kickback, certainly not about cronyism, and it is definitely not a way for incumbents to prevent their direct political challengers from accessing these public funds. Senator Boldon says this bill is necessary to save Democracy. Give me a break. I strongly oppose the proposal.

In recent elections, we have seen the rise of grants and donations from corporations, activist nonprofits, and wealthy individuals being given to cities and counties to fund voting expenses. Election grants and donations are disproportionately given to heavily DFL-voting areas. SF2092, a bill introduced by Senator Mark Koran-GOP, ends this growing privatization of election funding, and makes sure that the local governments running elections are the ones who pay for them.

The bill gets outside dollars out of our elections by banning any “for-profit business or nonprofit organization” from making contributions “for the purpose of paying expenses associated with conducting a federal, state, or local election.” Local entities such as churches and small businesses who wish to provide a free or discounted election-day polling place are exempt from the restrictions. I hope the Senate Elections Committee will consider SF2092.

On Wednesday, I presented SF3120 to the Senate Energy and Climate Committee. The proposal would task the Dept. of Commerce to study how advanced nuclear reactors (ANR) could assist Minnesota achieve its energy policy goals and assist management of spent nuclear fuel. In recent years, there has been a resurgence to promote ANR technologies. Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a $2.7B package to fund conventional and advance reactor fuels.

Many stakeholders are interested in the study policy. Including the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49, North Central States Council of Carpenters, American Experiment, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Dairyland Electric Cooperative, and others. SF3120 was favorably passed out of committee and continues to the Finance Committee for further consideration. This year might be Minnesota’s first of many steps towards a reliable, affordable, clean energy future.

If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government, please feel free to contact me at either 651-296-0476 or sen.andrew.mathews@senate.mn. I would love to hear from you.