Weber condemns hearings in St. Paul as 'anti-agriculture'

District 21 Sen. Bill Weber spoke earlier this week about what he called "a series of anti-agriculture hearings" that took place earlier this month in St. Paul. 

The Democrat-led Senate Environment Committee hosted hearings that only accepted one-side testimonies from environmental activists and had no opportunity for public input, Weber said. The Luverne Republican said the hearings presented DFLers the opportunity to demonize farmers, cattlemen and ranchers as being "bad for the environment."

Said Weber on Monday: "It was a very anti-agricultural situation and when it happened in the House, it was the Democrats that were chairing the committee that week as well. It's very disturbing, particularly for a district like ours. At the end of the day, they (Democrats) give a signal what they're going to try and do if they ever get the trifecta again and, quite frankly, we better pay attention to it."

Weber also discussed amendment proposals that he said would have boosted Minnesota's ability to detect and prevent fraud. Both amendments, he noted, failed on a 34-33 vote. "I'll let you guess which ones voted against them and which ones voted for them," he said.

Weber added that he expects a tax omnibus bill that's expected to be rolled out this week to include some tax increases, including one for digital advertising.