Dear Friends and Neighbors, Yesterday was celebration of The Triumphal Entry (also known as Palm Sunday), the day Christ rode into the City of Jerusalem fulfilling prophecy presenting himself as Messiah. Celebration of Good Friday is at the end of this week and Passover begins at sundown this coming Wednesday in which many will celebrate the remembrance of the Lord liberating the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. This coming Sunday is celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead overcoming the grave. I wish you, your family, and loved ones blessed Good Friday, Passover, and Resurrection Day! The Legislature will recess this week and not reconvene until Tuesday April 11 in recognition of these important holidays. When we return, I look forward to continuing the fight for truth and the future of our great Republic! | Picture of the Place of the Skull, also known as Golgotha (in Aramaic and Greek) and Calvary (in Latin), identified as the location of the Crucifixion, taken in 2010 by Sen. Lucero. | Picture of the Garden Tomb identified as having belonged to rich man Joseph of Arimathea and site of Christ's Resurrection, taken in 2010 by Sen. Lucero. | Sen. Lucero and his wife, Erum, at the Garden Tomb during their second visit to Israel in 2016. The channel system which held the stone that was rolled away can be seen behind them near the ground. | Sen. Lucero was joined by State Reps. Paul Novotny, Walter Hudson, and Danny Nadeau in Elk River Tuesday last week visiting with teachers and staff from the Elk River School District to listen to the voices of those working so hard for our children. EDUCATION FINANCE COMMITTEE History demonstrates the single greatest way to preserve the blessings of individual liberty, cultivate equal opportunity, and foster prosperity and pursuit of happiness is through an education with a solid foundation in truth and critical thinking skills forged through a focus on reading, writing, arithmetic, history, and the arts. As a former educator myself, I have a passion of ensuring academic excellence for children. Unfortunately, decades of Democrat mandates at the command of radicals and the Education Minnesota union have turned many K-12 government schools into centers of indoctrination and immorality leaving many students with lack of understanding in many areas of knowledge and void of useful life skills. Senate Democrats used their majority to pass the education finance bill out of the Education Finance Committee last week. The education policy and finance omnibus bills are filled with harmful Critical Race Theory, gender confusion, and other destructive mandates. Just one example of the fiscal damage the bill will have to our community is the Saint Michael-Albertville (STMA) School District. The Democrat bill will cost STMA approximately $6.6M in unfunded liabilities. Combined with the existing, anticipated deficit of $1.7M for next fiscal year, STMA will have liabilities totaling $8.3M. The same Democrat authored bill will provide STMA -approximately $3.87M in funding. Thus, $3.87M in revenue minus $8.3M in liabilities = a financial hole of $4.43M for STMA alone. Other school districts across the state will fare similarly. Democrats are bringing more disaster to our schools and our children are suffering as a result. My remarks in committee regarding the fiscal cliff STMA is facing can be viewed at the following link here. | Congratulations to Makayla for her art submission being selected to represent Senate District 30 in the 'My District, My Minnesota' art contest! Makayla's wonderful piece is proudly on display in the MN Senate Office Building the remainder of 2023! | Sen. Lucero visiting with dairy farmer, Saint Michael constituent David at the Capitol Wednesday last week to discuss the importance of co-ops and agriculture. | In a time of record surplus, Democrats are demanding tax increases. HOUSING COMMITTEE Whether renting or owning, the cost of housing continues to sharply rise. Ensuring stability in housing is critically important because stable housing (or lack thereof) directly impacts nearly every other sphere of our lives. As the Republican Lead on the Senate Housing Committee, one of the priorities I’ve been fighting for this legislative session is solving the root cause of rising prices to bring stability back to housing. Minnesota is short 80,000 – 100,000 housing units (e.g., homes of all types). Unfortunately, the Democrat majority in the Senate Housing Committee passed their omnibus bill last week which does little to address the root cause of high housing costs or increase the supply of new, naturally occurring affordable housing through construction. Instead of removing government barriers, slashing burdensome over-regulation, and rolling back government overreach, the Democrat majority is simply throwing more than $1 billion in tax surplus dollars at subsidizing high rent, providing down payment assistance to targeted Democrat constituent groups, and more through new or existing government programs. These actions will NOT solve the housing crisis long term. If the lack of solutions in the Democrat bill were not bad enough, Democrats are demanding even more taxpayer money. The Democrat Housing bill initially included a new metro-area sales tax funneled to government housing programs around the state. The Democrat Housing Chair removed the sales tax hike in a last minute move, but signaled the potential to re-introduce the provision in the near future – perhaps the same tax increase, but expanded to the entire state. In a time of record tax surplus, Democrats are demanding even more of your hard-earned tax dollars. It is nothing short of absolutely outrageous! Democrats owe it to hardworking Minnesotans to abandon their demands for tax increases and misguided spending proposals and instead finally put real effort into fixing the root causes of Minnesota’s housing crisis. | Sen. Lucero visiting with Elk River constituent Marla Tuesday last week. ENERGY COMMITTEE The Democrat majority on the Senate Energy Committee passed their omnibus bill last week filled with wasteful spending on the Minnesota version of the Green New Deal. Radical progressives have focused the last several decades strategically positioning themselves hijacking nearly every institution of influence in our society such as K-12 Education, Higher Education, Corporate Media, Social Media, Hollywood, and more. With their iron-clad control, the radicals have been pushing the fake idea of human-caused climate change. Why? To manufacture the perception of a crisis therein deceiving the population to voluntarily accept increased government tax and regulation mandates with little to zero objection. The society-shaping strategy is similar to the strategy used to promote the lie of evolution. Tell a lie big enough, long enough, and many will eventually believe it. | People clapping and cheering for wicked perversion Friday last week inside the MN Capitol Rotunda. PERVERSION AT THE CAPITOL Evil is on the march. Last week people clapped and cheered for a full display of depravity in the Minnesota Capitol Rotunda. Those promoting transvestite and transexual perversion are targeting the minds of our children. Each and every one of us must remain steadfast for truth! | Democrats continue their refusal for full elimination of the Minnesota tax on social security not caring about the devastating hardship Democrats are inflicting on those with fixed incomes. | Democrats have had iron-fist control of all statewide offices for well over a decade and 100% control of Hennepin and Ramsey Counties for multiple decades advancing Socialist mandates. During this same time, crime, taxes, cost of housing and medical care, and fraud scandals have all skyrocketed while academic performance, and quality of life have cratered. Democrats are destroying the once great State of Minnesota with their radical, progressive policies proven to devastate nations, states, societies, and cultures throughout history. People are responding by fleeing the sinkholes Hennepin County, Ramsey County, and the state are being transformed into. STAYING IN TOUCH Each and every day I’m continuously humbled at the opportunity to represent and fight for the values and priorities of our great community! Please contact me to share any issues, concerns, or feedback you have to assist me best represent you. The best way to reach me is by email at [email protected] or by phone at 651-296-5655. Sincerely, Eric Lucero State Senator District 30 Rockford Township, Hanover, Saint Michael, Albertville, Otsego, Elk River, Nowthen, Western Oak Grove | Capitol Address 95 University Avenue W. Minnesota Senate Bldg. 2413 St. Paul, MN 55155 651-296-5655 | |