Dear Neighbors,
Minnesota Management and Budget just released the most recent state budget forecast, which included a projected budget surplus of just under $1.9 billion. This marks the second consecutive year of big budget surpluses following the DFL’s responsibly balanced budget of 2013, when we paid back the school shift and focused on initiatives that would help the middle class. After $665 million of the projected surplus is saved into Minnesota’s rainy day account, as required by law, the legislature will be left with $1.206 billion to allocate.
Lawmakers entered this year's session with a similarly sized $2 billion surplus, but the House GOP pushed an agenda that was so radical we had to have a special session to get our budget figured out. While they chose to play political games and prioritize special interests over of Minnesota families, they left ordinary Minnesotans to deal with increased property taxes, higher tuition, and higher healthcare costs.
I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will join me and seek a balanced approach to allocating the surplus this time around. We need to make sure we save for the future, make crucial investments in the vital services such as education and transportation, and targeted tax breaks that will benefit middle class taxpayers, homeowners, renters, farmers and small businesses.
We cannot repeat the same mistakes of the last year when the Republicans squandered a huge opportunity. It's time for us to put the interests of everyday Minnesotans first. With another large surplus to work with, the legislature can and should do better this year.
I would love to hear your ideas about our budget surplus and our agenda for the upcoming session.
As always, feel free to contact me with any thoughts or concerns you may have.
Sincerely,
Ike