Monday, February 18, 2013
The District 46 Legislator and head of the Senate Judiciary Committee plans to focus on background checks and ‘loopholes.’
Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 46) said this week’s hearings on gun-control legislation will not cover a proposed ban on assault weapons or limits on magazine sizes. The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman─whose district includes Golden Valley, Hopkins, Plymouth and St. Louis Park-─said universal background checks will most likely lead the discussion. “I think most people agree that universal background checks is the first place we should start. We need to focus on what we can accomplish right now to make our state safer,” a news release quoted Latz. “The outright banning of guns is a conversation that is more suited on the federal level.” Latz’s committee plans two days of hearings on the proposed legislation, starting Thursday. Unlike …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
The District 46 legislator provides an update from the Capitol.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, February 14
Editor’s Note: The following legislative update comes from the office of Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 46). Hello Everyone, Policy committees are starting to hear bills as the finance committees are going through the Governor’s budget. Judiciary is one of the few committees (there are only 3) that are both policy and finance so we will have a very full and busy agenda. On the floor we ratified the State employee contracts and had a few more Commissioner confirmations. I have introduced the Prosecutor’s Package, a bill that will curb gun violence in our communities. S.F. 235 is a bi-partisan piece of legislation that has wide ranging support from the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association, Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and MPPOA. The House …
The proposal would eliminate the statute of limitation in civil cases for sex abuse victims.
Local legislators are among the lawmakers pushing to end the statute of limitations that requires victims of sexual abuse to file a lawsuit within six years of becoming an adult. If the bill becomes law, victims could file a lawsuit at any time, regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred. Sen. Ron Latz (District 46) and Rep. Steve Simon (District 46B) appeared at a news conference Wednesday to build support for the “Minnesota Child Victims Act.” Latz, who’s chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the proposal recognizes a healing process that can sometimes take decades for victims to confront abuse. “The Minnesota Child Victims Act is pretty simple and straightforward,” he said. "It gives an opportunity for victims of child …
Monday, February 11, 2013
The Senate Judiciary chairman and local legislator said his five-point plan to keep guns from people who shouldn’t have them would sail through if it weren’t for the larger debate on guns.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Ron Latz (DFL-District 46) said gun control proposals like his are only generating controversy because of the larger debate about how to regulate firearms in the wake of the Newtown, CT shooting. In an interview with Senate Media Service’s Capitol Report last week, Latz pitched his five-part package as a commonsense approach that’s simply intended to keep gun from people who shouldn’t have them. “This is not an attack on gun rights,” Latz said. “That’s already well established in the Constitution and by the Supreme Court. This is simply what form of regulation we should use for a lawful but dangerous product.” Latz, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and St. Paul Rep. John Lesch (DFL-District 66B) are pushing …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
The pair of bills offer substantially different financing options for the project, but would both see millions of dollars go to the Metropolitan Council.
Two different funding options for the Southwest Light Rail Transit (LRT) line are being considered at the Capitol, after being introduced by Sen. Melisa Franzen (DFL-Edina) Monday morning. Senate File 257 and Senate File 258 both appropriate millions of dollars in bond proceeds to the Metropolitan Council to make the 15-mile light rail route a reality, though they do offer dramatically different amounts. SF 257 would provide $118 million for the project, fully covering the remainder of the state contribution toward the project. SF 258 would provide $37 million. "It is time to move this project forward," Franzen said. "The business community, cities and residents are all on board. We need the Legislature to step up and make an investment …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Mike Freeman suggested some fixes to state law that would keep guns from people he thinks shouldn’t have them.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 46) and Rep. John Lesch (DFL-District 66B) are pushing for five changes to state law that they say would keep guns from people who shouldn’t have them. At a press conference Thursday, Freeman spelled out the following recommendations included in the legislation that’s been introduced: Watch the three men speak about the proposal in the video above. Hearings on the proposal are scheduled for next week in the House and the end of February in the Senate.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The District 46 legislator provides an update from the Capitol.
- OPINION
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Wednesday, January 30
Editor’s Note: The following weekly update comes from Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 46). Click on the PDF to the right of this introduction to read a detailed look at specific issues before the Legislature. Hello Everyone, On January 8, the 88th session of the Minnesota Legislature began with the fanfare of swearing in ceremonies and pictures with families. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to represent Golden Valley, Hopkins, Plymouth, St. Louis Park and Medicine Lake. I am in the process of meeting with the local city councils and school boards to discuss their legislative agendas and will be scheduling Town Hall meetings very soon. During the first few weeks of session, committees have been meeting to have policy and …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The District 46 senator was part of a bipartisan group of policy makers that pushed for a discussion on the issue Wednesday.
DFL Sen. Ron Latz joined Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association, Hennepin County Judge Jay Quam and other officials Wednesday in a push for stronger measures aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. “The confluence of mental health issues and dangerous products, like guns, in particular, is very unnerving,” said Latz—whose district includes Golden Valley, Hopkins, Plymouth and St. Louis Park, where the family of slain Accent Signage owner Reuven Rahamim lives. “And we need to focus on solutions like are being proposed here so that we can all be safer and so that the people who are victims of their own mental illnesses can also then be prevented from victimizing others in other more …
Sunday, January 13, 2013
The Senate Judiciary chairman—whose district includes Hopkins, Golden Valley and St. Louis Park—declined to back any specific gun control measure.
Friday, January 11, 2013
The Senate Judiciary chairman—whose district includes Hopkins, Golden Valley and St. Louis Park—declined to back any specific gun control measure.
Gun control discussions will take a back seat to setting the state’s budget, Senate Judiciary Chairman Ron Latz (DFL-District 46) told Senate Media Services in an interview published Friday. “Our first job is to deal with the budget—and to deal with the jobs and economy in Minnesota,” Latz said. “And this is a budget year. So this is the year that the Legislature will set the budget for the next two years. That’s our first task.” Watch the full video in the player above. Latz's interview starts at the 3:36 mark. Latz—whose district includes Hopkins, Golden Valley, Plymouth and St. Louis Park—said his committee is starting this year’s session by examining funding for the Judiciary, the Department of Corrections, public defenders and other …
Fabuladico
3:32 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
You know a lot of this is just noise. There is already a required background check for the purchase of handguns and rifles. A special permit is required to purchase "assualt weapons", which includes any military type weapons even those used in WWI or WWII. Limiting the size of the clip is also superfluous since it takes less than three seconds to change clips for anyone with experience in doing … more ›