Friends and neighbors –I write this on the morning of Monday, May 22nd. The legislature is required to adjourn tonight at midnight, and there is still quite a bit of work left for Democrats to do.I wish I could say that there is work left for us to do. But the truth is that, try as we might, Democrats have shown no interest in working together on any of the major issues.We have offered good amendments to improve their bills; they have rejected them or deleted them in conference committee. We have made numerous offers to help us bridge some of the divides we face; we have been told ‘no’ every single time. We have asked for an inclusive, [...]

Friends and neighbors, On Friday the Senate passed a public safety budget agreement. Virtually all of the feedback I have received about this issue have told me the same thing: invest in police. Put more good cops on the streets. Get tough on criminals. Hold judges and prosecutors accountable. The Democrats’ bill does none of these things. It is a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card for criminals that will make thousands of convicted criminals eligible for early release, including violent offenders and juveniles that commit heinous crimes. The House-Senate conference committee agreement is even worse than the Senate Democrat version of the bill. The conference committee, which had no Republican members, removed funding for three important provisions: mental [...]

Serious Concerns From Schools About Democrat Budget Proposal Friends and Neighbors, Empty classroom with no students For most of this session, I have been getting frantic calls from school officials, teachers, and superintendents in our area. They have all expressed nearly the same concern: while they are happy about proposed funding increases in the Democrat education budget, schools are actually going to lose money because Democrats are proposing so many expensive mandates. They have told me flat out that these mandates will eat up all of the funding increases, and then some. They have shared budget breakdowns of the losses that are forthcoming. One suburban superintendent recently told his school board, “This is potentially one of [...]

Senate Elections Bill Makes our Elections Riskier, Weaker, Less Transparent, and Less Trustworthy Friends and neighbors, On Thursday night, the Senate approved the Democrats’ partisan election bill. As the lead Republican on the elections committee, I can tell you that the bill is troubling. It makes Minnesota’s elections weaker, riskier, less transparent, and less trustworthy. Minnesota has a long tradition of only approving election law changes with bipartisan support precisely to avoid bills like this. It is disappointing that Democrats have thrown out that time-honored custom. We should prioritize efforts to help our local elections officials run safe, secure, transparent, and accessible elections. This bill takes us in the opposite direction. Key provisions of the bill: Moves Minnesota closer [...]

Public Safety Bill Will Make 92% of Inmates Eligible for ReleaseI voted no on this bill because it simply amounts to a get-out-of-jail-free card for criminals. Their bill reduces prison time from 2/3 of an offender's sentence to half, which would release about 7,400 inmates from incarceration. Also, the Sentencing Guidelines Commission will begin a “comprehensive review” of sentencing guidelines. Given the commission and Gov. Walz’s recent emphasis on letting offenders out early, I am concerned about the motivation for this review and what the result will be. A shocking 92% of inmates will be eligible to be released from prison under the Democrat bill. While the bill does provide funding for important initiatives such as school safety, human [...]

Knowledge is PowerAbout half of Minnesota students cannot read at grade level. That might surprise you, but it’s true. Reading is the foundation of all learning. Nothing is more important in education, and no better predictor of future success, than making sure students can read proficiently by third grade.Over time, research and data have confirmed that children best learn to read with a systematic, structured approach focusing on the building blocks of language – phonics, syntax, and semantics. It’s called structured literacy or the Science of Reading. It allows students to develop the foundational reading skills step-by-step, starting with the basics and then moving on to more advanced skills.This year, we are making literacy our top education goal once [...]

Put it Right Back Where it Belongs! Given the state’s massive budget surplus we have an excellent opportunity to provide relief to hard-working Minnesota families who are still feeling squeezed by high inflation. The number one thing I hear around the district: people want us to give the surplus back. I agree! The package includes changes for immediate tax relief today with one-time rebate checks using $5 billion of the state’s surplus funds and $3.5 billion for a one-time child tax credit available for two years. The checks are estimated to be $1250 for single filers, and $2500 for joint filers. The $1800 tax credit per child under the age of 18 comes without strings attached to its purpose [...]

Coffee with KoranThis upcoming Friday, March 10, I will host Coffee with Koran from 1:00pm – 3:00pm at the County Market in North Branch. Please use the link to sign up or email me at sen.mark.koran@senate.mn. I look forward to meeting and hearing directly from you!Unlocking the Potential of Our Students - Financial Literacy in High SchoolsUnderstanding personal finance is crucial for students to have successful futures. It is a critical life skill that every student should have. Unfortunately, many students graduate high school without basic knowledge of personal finance. This session my colleagues and I introduced legislation that would require Minnesota high school students to pass an online personal finance class in 12th grade as part of their [...]

It Takes a Team - Thank You! Neighbors, I appreciate your commitment to making Minnesota a great place to live and work. As your state senator - I work for you! People often overlook the direct impacts the decisions made in St. Paul have on our daily lives. Government and elected officials need to be transparent and held accountable. During session (January – May), I send weekly email updates on things happening at the Capitol and around our community. I encourage you to sign up! I'm Here to Help In addition to the weekly email updates, I encourage you to follow me on social media for real time updates on what's happening in St. Paul. Again, I work for [...]

Spread the Government Love - Give It Back!On Monday, the Minnesota’s office of Management and Budget (MMB) released its February revenue forecast, which provides information and an outlook for Minnesota’s financial picture. The report projects a surplus of $17.5 billion for the next budget cycle, which begins in July.Last week, the legislature passed a bill to automatically add inflation to forecast computations. Without that change, the true surplus number is closer to $19 billion.For well over a year, the number one thing I hear from constituents is that they want us to give the surplus back. An enormous budget surplus should mean enormous relief for Minnesotans.With folks still feeling their household budgets squeezed by high prices for everything from [...]