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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Steve Green (R)

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Legislative Update (5-20-19)

Monday, May 20, 2019

Neighbor,

There is good and bad in the tentative agreement that was reached on a new two-year state budget Sunday.

First, the good: Thanks to public support, Republicans were able to stop the Democrats’ proposal to raise our gas tax by 20 cents per gallon, and also prevented the DFL from raiding dedicated transportation funding for roads and bridges.

Also, it appears controversial proposals to infringe on the Second Amendment remain out of the mix. But, once again, I'll keep my eyes on this because, as I have said, you just never know when something might come back to life during the bill-making process.

Now, the bad: I’m disappointed that it appears Democrats are getting their way in raising health care taxes by $2 billion over the next four years. This is a huge loss for everyone in Minnesota that has to visit a doctor, or dentist.

While those two particulars are known, the vast remaining details of the budget are still being resolved. It will take time for those pieces to come together and, with adjournment arriving at midnight today, a special session will be required to allow time to get everything in order. Exactly when a special session will take place – and how many days a special session would last – has yet to be determined.

Look for more as things develop in St. Paul.

-Steve