New Minority Leader Looks To Find Common Ground During Legislative Session

(KNSI) – Minnesota’s new House minority leader is looking forward to leading her party and working across the aisle.

Republican Representative Lisa Demuth is taking over as leader when the session starts on January 3rd. “I’m really excited to have this opportunity to lead our caucus. We have 25 new members that are coming in, and they are ready to work. We are ready to build relationships and finding some common ground on things that would help Minnesotans and finding areas we could possibly agree on.”

The lawmaker from Cold Spring says both sides agree that the state’s $17.6 billion surplus means Minnesotans paid too much in taxes. “That needs to get back to Minnesotans in long-lasting tax relief. Ending the tax on Social Security fully, is something that we had campaigned on. We heard our DFL members also campaigning on that. I think that’s something we could get done on a single item, early in session to show Minnesotans that we can work together.” Demuth says she is not in favor of rebate checks.

The minority leader says she is in favor of working to increase public safety. “We know that Minnesotans need to feel safe wherever they are in the state. And so, we’re looking at public safety and how we can increase retention and recruitment for our law enforcement officers.”

As a Second Amendment supporter, she says limiting gun owners’ rights is not something she will entertain, explaining, “What we need to look at is the areas of mental health. We need to make sure that we are addressing that within our communities” adding a lot of gun violence is caused by people who shouldn’t have access to weapons, it’s important to enforce the laws we have on the books.

When it comes to education, Representative Demuth says Minnesota has to improve its test scores and make up for learning loss. She wants to discuss targeted education spending instead of sending a blank check. The Republican caucus also supports school choice.

Democrats have said legalizing marijuana, which Demuth says she is against, and legalizing sports betting are two items they want to look at this session. The third-term lawmaker says Legislators will continue to discuss the possibility of making sports betting legal; however, she didn’t hear much about the issue while on the campaign trail.

___