Latest news with #StateandLocalGovernmentCommittee
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DFL Sen. Matt Klein announces run for 2nd Congressional District
Sen. Matt Klein, DFL-Mendota Heights, presents the sports betting bill to the State and Local Government Committee February 13, 2025. The bill failed to pass on a 6-6 tie vote. Photo by A.J. Olmscheid/Senate Media Services. Minnesota Sen. Matt Klein, DFL-Mendota Heights, a Mayo doctor first elected to the Legislature in 2016, announced Tuesday he's running for Rep. Angie Craig's congressional seat in the 2nd District. 'As a senator, I've worked across the aisle to pass common sense laws that protect Minnesotans from financial fraud and predatory lending, lower prescription drug costs by holding Big Pharma accountable, defend reproductive freedom, and make life more affordable for working families,' Klein said in a statement. The 2nd Congressional District is Minnesota's most competitive, but Craig's centrist politics has helped her win four consecutive elections in the purple south metro district. In 2024, she won by double digit percentage points despite Republicans' nationwide success. She recently announced her candidacy for U.S. Senate. Klein currently serves as the chair of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee. Most recently, Klein has championed legislation to legalize online sports betting in Minnesota, but that effort has stalled again this year. He's also a vocal proponent of passing a revolving door ban, which would bar lawmakers from becoming lobbyists immediately after leaving office. Klein, a married father of five, grew up in the east metro and attended the Mayo Medical School. Klein helped Gov. Tim Walz during his 2022 reelection by sharply calling out Walz's GOP opponent, fellow physician Scott Jensen, who had raised doubts about the severity of the pandemic and the necessity of universal vaccination. Former DFL Sen. Matt Little is also running for the 2nd Congressional District seat. Businessman and internet poster Mike Norton is exploring a run. Other potential candidates include GOP state Sen. Eric Pratt; 2024 GOP nominee Joe Teirab; and 2020 and 2022 GOP nominee Tyler Kistner.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Minnesota lawmaker behind ‘Trump derangement syndrome' bill accused of soliciting minor
Minnesota state Sen. Justin Eichorn (R) was arrested for soliciting a minor on Monday, authorities said, hours after he introduced a bill proposing 'Trump derangement syndrome' (TDS) as a form of mental illness. Bloomington Police Department detectives had communicated with Eichorn, who was under the assumption he was talking to a 17-year-old girl, police said. He arrived Monday to meet the teen in person but instead was met by local officers. He was later booked at the Bloomington Police Department jail and was expected to be transported to the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center. A felony charge of soliciting a minor to practice prostitution was pending, authorities said in a statement Tuesday. 'As a 40-year-old man, if you come to the Orange Jumpsuit District looking to have sex with someone's child, you can expect that we are going to lock you up,' Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said in a statement. 'I have always advocated stiffer penalties for these types of offenses. … We need our state legislature to take this case and this type of conduct more seriously.' Eichorn, who is married with four children, represents St. Paul, Minn., according to his legislative profile. This is his third term as a senator, and he serves as the ranking minority member on two committees, including the State and Local Government Committee. Eichorn's bill defines TDS as an 'acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons' triggered by reactions to President Trump's administration and its policies, characterized by symptoms such as intense verbal hostility toward Trump and potential acts of aggression against Trump supporters. He co-sponsored the bill with four Republican state senators on Monday. In the wake of Eichorn's arrest, his colleagues have urged him to resign. 'We are shocked by these reports and this alleged conduct demands an immediate resignation,' Minnesota State Republicans wrote in a statement, posted on X. 'Justin has a difficult road ahead and he needs to focus on his family.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
19-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Minnesota lawmaker behind ‘Trump derangement syndrome' bill accused of soliciting teen
Minnesota state Sen. Justin Eichorn (R) was arrested for soliciting a teen on Monday, authorities said, hours after he introduced a bill proposing ' Trump derangement syndrome ' (TDS) as a form of mental illness. Bloomington Police Department detectives had communicated with Eichorn, who was under the assumption he was talking to a 17-year-old female, police said. He arrived Monday to meet the teen in person but was instead met by local officers. He was later booked at the Bloomington Police Department jail and was expected to be transported to the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center. A felony charge of soliciting a minor to practice prostitution was pending, authorities said in a statement Tuesday. 'As a 40-year-old man, if you come to the Orange Jumpsuit District looking to have sex with someone's child, you can expect that we are going to lock you up,' Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said in a statement. 'I have always advocated stiffer penalties for these types of offenses…We need our state legislature to take this case and this type of conduct more seriously.' Eichorn, who is married with four children, represents St. Paul, Minn., according to his legislative profile. This is his third term as a senator and he serves as the ranking minority member on two committees, including the State and Local Government Committee. Eichorn's bill defines TDS as an 'acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons' triggered by reactions to President Trump's administration and its policies, characterized by symptoms such as intense verbal hostility toward Trump and potential acts of aggression against Trump supporters. He co-sponsored the bill alongside four Republican state senators on Monday. In the wake of Eichorn's arrest, his colleagues have urged him to resign. 'We are shocked by these reports and this alleged conduct demands an immediate resignation,' Minnesota State Republicans wrote in a statement, posted on X. 'Justin has a difficult road ahead and he needs to focus on his family.'
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Proposed bill would give Maine cities first chance to buy university buildings for sale
Feb. 11—A proposed bill would give Maine municipalities the first shot to buy public university buildings when they're listed for sale within their boundaries. The University of Maine System has been selling off several of its properties statewide as part of its 2023 strategic plan in response to long-term enrollment declines and a shift to online learning. Since then, the system has sold or plans to sell 12 buildings. One of those buildings is the Hutchinson Center in Belfast, which the system first committed to sell to an evangelical church, before rescinding the offer over a procedural issue. The system held a second bidding process last fall and awarded the building to a local nonprofit, although the church is actively challenging that sale in federal court. Rep. Janice Dodge, D-Belfast, said the controversy prompted her to introduce LD 50 to allow cities or towns the first chance to purchase university buildings within their boundaries. In a hearing Monday morning before the State and Local Government Committee, she described the Hutchinson Center sale process as "bumpy" and said the building should have been sold to the city. "I believe municipalities should have the opportunity to purchase UMaine properties at fair market value," Dodge said. "As one of our state's largest economic drivers, the actions by the university system and other quasi-independent state entities have an amplified influence in the cities and towns where they own property and conduct operations." It's not clear that the city of Belfast ever wanted to purchase the Hutchinson Center, as it never submitted a bid. Dodge and Sen. Glenn Curry sponsored a bill in the last legislative session to transfer the building to the city, which did not pass. Dodge said the latest bill is not designed to effect the pending sale of the Hutchinson Center but is meant to create opportunities for other municipalities in the future. Samantha Warren, a governmental affairs officer for the University of Maine System, testified in strong opposition to the bill Monday and said it would limit the system's ability to generate revenue. She pointed to the sales that have already occurred, which have created affordable senior housing, a tribal court and added to Portland's general housing stock. "This bill would slow or even stop transformational transactions such as these, significantly delaying the beneficial repurposing of buildings and land and straining our underfunded public universities with the unnecessary cost of heating, cooling and otherwise maintaining public space," she said. Warren testified that the system's current process allows the sale of property at competitive prices. And she said while the current process allows municipalities to bid, not a single town or city has submitted an offer since the selling process began in 2023. She said municipalities that want to purchase UMS buildings already have the option to seek a waiver from the competitive process through the system's board of trustees. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Governor testifies on eliminating unneeded North Dakota boards
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong gives his first State of the State address Jan. 7, 2025, at the Capitol. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor) Gov. Kelly Armstrong went into a legislative committee Thursday to pitch his idea of creating a task force to eliminate unnecessary North Dakota government boards. 'Every board comes with a cost, even with volunteer members,' Armstrong told the Senate's State and Local Government Committee, chaired by Sen. Kristin Roers, R-Fargo, the lead sponsor of the bill. Armstrong, a Republican, referred to a 'national trend' to shrink government. Under Senate Bill 2308, the state labor commissioner would lead a task force including members from Senate and House and representatives from cities, counties and the business community. The bill sets an Oct. 1, 2026, deadline to provide a report on what boards might be dissolved or combined and which are essential. Zach Greenberg is the interim labor commissioner. Armstrong said the state has more than 150 state government related boards with about 1,500 members — with the governor appointing about two-thirds of those members. After Armstrong's testimony, there was supportive testimony from government and industry officials such as Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. Ness said the Energy Policy Committee that formed in 2008 as the North Dakota oil boom was ramping up has now become dormant. There were other groups identified by the bill that testified in defense of their organizations, such as the North Dakota Board of Professional Soil Classifiers. The committee did not take immediate action on the bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
