St. Cloud Representative Prepares for Legislative Session Amid Controversial Bills and Broken Promises

(KNSI) – A St. Cloud representative is getting ready for her second year in the Legislature as lawmakers prepare to gavel back into session Monday.

A bill members of the House and Senate will consider called the North Star Act would effectively make Minnesota a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants. Republican Minority Leader Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring opposes the bill.

District 14A Representative Bernie Perryman agrees with her party’s leadership and told KNSI News it would be too costly for the state. “I would be against it for the principle that it’s going to be very heavy on our shoulders of Minnesotans.”

Perryman is also passionate about lawmakers keeping their word on a proposed tax cut that didn’t materialize last year. “We all campaigned on ending the state tax on Social Security benefits. When we got into session, those were broken promises. And we did not do that.”

The first-term representative also expects there to be a lot of discussion this session on assisted suicide. Something Perryman says she doesn’t support.

She says one of the first items they’ll take up will be to address the wording governing school resource officers’ conduct. A change last year sparked dozens of police departments to suspend their service in schools over fear they could be sued if they laid their hands on a student even to break up a fight. Perryman also says Minnesota has become too soft on crime and would like to toughen up penalties and create incentives to get more police on the streets.

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