Rep Cal Bahr, HD 31B, R-East Bethel
Rep Erik Mortensen HD 55A, R-Shakopee
Rep Mortensen mentioned in the Minnesota Constitution, Article IV Section 17, the Single Subject Clause which states:
LAWS TO EMBRACE ONLY ONE SUBJECT. No law shall embrace more than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title.
This is not a partisan issue New House Republican Caucus Members and other State Legislators embrace ending the unconstitutional practice of formulating Omnibus Bills. One notable State Representative Gene Pelowski Jr, HD 28A DFL-Winona, has always advocated against omnibus bills.
Omnibus bills take away the open and honest character of the legislative process and hides the real cost of some bills and allows some laws or appropriations to be slipped in without debate on them. Later on in conference committee the horse-trading on what gets kept in and what doesn’t isn’t fair to the people who depend on some laws being passed.
Often these bills with the enormous size of them a legislator might not have time to review all the changes that have taken place in a short time period, so they tend to vote how their political caucus votes. Sometime later a watchdog group might chastise a legislator when they are running for office again, of voting for or against a bill and many cases it is because the bill was in a huge omnibus.
Please contact your Senator to make sure omnibus bills are broken up and that the legislature follows the MN Constitution and let each individual bill stand on its own merit.