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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Just a quick reminder to attend our virtual District 66 Town Hall meeting tonight at 5:30pm. Rep. Alice Hausman, Rep. Athena Hollins, and me will discuss the recent legislative session and answer questions. Click here for the Facebook event: https://bit.ly/District66Mtg or RSVP here to get the Zoom link: https://bit.ly/District66RSVP
Also, below is part two of this year’s session report on several issues and concerns that I want to highlight. This year’s report is coming in three installments in order to devote space to a variety of important issues from this session. Here is a link to the first installment in case you missed it.
Please continue to contact me with your concerns, suggestions, or questions, with the contact information below.
Thank you for giving me the honor to serve as your senator.
Sincerely,
John Marty
Catalytic Converter Theft
When legislators in the majority refuse to engage members of the minority party, many good ideas are lost.
During the past two years, I have worked on legislation to address the serious and growing problem of catalytic converter theft. Catalytic converters are part of the exhaust system of internal combustion cars and trucks, designed to break down toxic gases and reduce air pollution.
Catalytic converter theft is a huge nationwide problem that has been growing quickly due to high prices for precious metals in converters, and the ability of thieves to cut them off in less than two minutes. Theft of converters has been doubling or tripling each of the last several years. The St. Paul Police Department has seen an average of about 6 converter thefts per day being reported – just in the city of St. Paul.
For victims of theft, it can result in a $2000 - $3000 repair bill, and frequently a wait of 5 or 6 weeks to get a replacement part, making their car virtually unusable for more than a month.
In conjunction with some colleagues and input from auto theft experts, I developed a strong response to the problem of catalytic converter theft with a bill that would make it a crime to possess a used catalytic converter that is not attached to a car, unless it is marked with the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) from the car it was attached to.
Under the proposal, people who are legitimately removing converters from cars (auto salvage businesses, auto repair shops, etc.) could easily comply with the law, simply by writing the VIN on a converter when they remove it.
People who are stealing converters would be guilty of the possession crime if they are unmarked. And, if a thief puts a VIN number on the converter, law enforcement can find the owner and prove the theft if the number is accurate. If it is a fraudulent number, law enforcement can charge them with violating the possession law.
Two national groups have said that the legislation would provide a model for a way to address the problem in other states as well.
After being denied a hearing last year, I continued working on the issue, discussing it with law enforcement, businesses, legislative colleagues, and an ever-increasing number of victims. This year I was again denied a hearing despite repeated requests for consideration. With no other option, I offered the bill on the Senate Floor as an amendment to the Commerce and Consumer Protection bill, since this legislation amends Minnesota’s Commerce and Consumer Protection laws.
Again, the Senate majority refused to consider the proposal, saying that it wasn’t ‘germane’ to the legislation, preventing any discussion or vote on the proposal. The Republican Senate leadership gave no path for consideration of this important legislation this year.
The legislature did adopt an expensive pilot program that might have a small impact, after the Senate Republicans refused to consider this legislation which would make a significant impact on the crime.
For people who have been victimized by this costly crime and those who might be in the coming year, there is nothing more that I could have done. This legislation did not require any funding, and I have yet to hear a single legislator suggest that this solution would not make a difference. Thousands of Minnesotans will be hit by converter theft before we next have a chance to address this crime.
Transportation
The final Transportation bill included some important transit and active transportation provisions, including funding for two additional Bus Rapid Transit lines, planning for zero-emissions from transit and investment in the Safe Routes to School and Active
Transportation programs which will enable more bike/pedestrian transportation, and better transportation options and access for seniors and disabled people.
However, the Senate was unwilling to accept any increase in the gas tax even though it has not kept up with inflation and road construction needs. The Minnesota gas tax (currently 28.5 cents/gallon) would need to be 42 cents/gallon to keep up with inflation from the gas tax rate in the mid-1970s. This shortage of gas tax revenue has been aggravated due to greater fuel efficiency in cars over the decades.
Climate and Environment
Weather events of the past year have shown that we are already in dire climate crisis, causing fires, floods, ice storms and heatwaves to occur more intensely and more frequently. To continue using fossil fuels is to court disaster for our children and their children. We need to focus on rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and the transition to a clean energy economy. I introduced Senate File 2526 to establish a stakeholder process focused on making Minnesota carbon neutral across all sectors of the economy by 2040.
Senate Republicans refused to consider any legislation that even mentioned climate change and they pushed legislation that would move us backwards on climate and other environmental issues. In the Senate Environment bill, they attempted to block the enforcement of regulations that reduce manure runoff which pollutes Minnesota waters. They threatened to shut down state parks over their opposition to Clean Car standards – standards that will reduce emissions and increase availability of electric cars. There seems to be a reckless, anti-environment attitude among many senators. While I was glad to see that these backward steps on climate and the environment did not become law, we need to move forward aggressively, not stand still or move backward.
Elections and Voting Rights
Protecting voting rights and making voting accessible to all is essential to our democracy. There are several bills we should pass in Minnesota to ensure every eligible Minnesotan can vote. This session, I co-authored SF 1104 which would create automatic registration for Minnesota. I was also proud to be a co-author of SF 1069, to implement voter protections including expanded access to early and absentee voting, requiring absentee ballot information to be provided in several languages, and prohibiting voter intimidation. On the national level, I am committed to reforming the Electoral College to ensure that the candidate who wins the popular vote wins in the Electoral College. I have co-authored a bill add Minnesota to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would ensure every vote in Presidential elections has equal weight regardless of the state it is cast from.
Unfortunately, none of these important bills received a hearing in the Senate this session. Instead, the Senate majority pushed for a photo ID system, despite the rejection of such a proposal by Minnesota voters nine years ago. I spoke out against the voter ID bill on the Senate floor, pointing out that this restrictive legislation would deny countless Minnesota voters – especially seniors and young adults who move frequently – of their right to vote. I am pleased that the photo ID requirement did not pass, and I will continue working to expand access to voting.
At the founding of the United States, the right to vote existed only for white, male, property owners. Fortunately, that right has expanded – our nation was gradually coming closer to the ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence. Unfortunately, in recent decades there has been a strong Republican push to make it more difficult for some people to vote. I want a democracy where candidates win elections by persuading voters to support their ideas, not one where those in power win by making it more difficult for people who disagree with them to vote.
If you missed the first part of this legislative report, please click here to read it. The final part of this report will be sent next week.
Contact Information
We hope you can join our virtual town hall this evening to discuss these and other issues. The meeting will be recorded and available on Facebook for later viewing. If you wish to get in touch with me please call my office at 651-296-5645 or reach out to my legislative assistant, Elspeth Cavert, at elspeth.cavert@senate.mn.
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