ST. PAUL – Thursday, the Minnesota House considered the Omnibus Tax Bill and Omnibus Environment Bill, the first two budget bills of the session from the Republican Majority. The Tax Bill, contains a massive cut in the estate tax for rich families, an unprecedented private school neovoucher system diverting money from public schools, and no increases in Local Government Aid or the Working Family Credit.
“During a time of economic uncertainty, especially at the federal level, this massive, unnecessary package of handouts for the richest Minnesotans is completely irresponsible,” Rep. Jennifer Schultz (DFL – Duluth) said. “What’s more, the state budget forecast only adjusts for inflation on the revenue side, not the expenditure side. So while the Republicans in the Legislature are apt to talk about ‘returning the surplus to taxpayers,’ what they are really doing is preventing needed investments in critical areas like our public schools and health care. There is no real surplus once we account for inflation.”
The second bill, the Environment bill, cuts $94 million from current funding that protects our air, water, and natural resources. It also rolls back Gov. Dayton’s buffer initiative and guts the Environmental Quality Board by changing its ability to review potentially detrimental projects, among other things. The bill also takes $47 million from the Volkswagen fraud settlement case and puts it in the hands of the Legislature, which could put the settlement funding in jeopardy.
“This environment bill is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what happens when a massive tax bill squeezes out other needed investments. It’s full of shifts, gimmicks, and 80 pages of policies which didn’t receive adequate public input,” Rep. Schultz said. “Our air, water, soil, and other abundant natural resources are precious and should be protected for future generations. Instead of protecting our natural resources, this bill rolls back important provisions.”
Tomorrow, the House is expected to consider the Omnibus Transportation and Education Finance Packages, with other bills set to hit the floor next week.