Dear Neighbor,
We’ve reached the point in the legislative session where committee work has wrapped up and the majority of our time is being spent on the House Floor debating legislation. Over the past week Republicans have brought forward their major finance bills regarding transportation, jobs and energy, environment, state government, and E-12 education.
As with the education bill we debated Saturday, there’s a common theme with all of these bills: a lack of significant investments accompanied by major cuts and budget gimmicks.
With a $2 billion surplus, these misplaced priorities, cuts and budget tricks all have their roots in the tax bill that Republican leadership in the House has proposed.
Tax Bill
The tax bill that’s moving through the House contains $2 billion in tax cuts targeted at the super wealthy, instead of benefitting average Minnesotans. Republicans are talking loudly about the “middle-class tax cuts” found in their bill, but they only total about $70 a year for a single filer making $70,000. It’s a tax cut that lacks any significant impact, and even worse, it’s only a temporary cut that disappears in two years.
The centerpiece of the Republican tax cut package is a gift to big businesses. Their tax bill permanently eliminates the business property tax, which gives corporations and businesses a $5 billion tax cut over the next eight years. Owners of skyscrapers in Minneapolis and businesses like Wal-Mart and Home Depot are the biggest benefactors from this tax bill. If this Republican tax plan goes into effect, it will cost our state now and in the future.
E-12 Education Finance Saturday
The Republicans chose Saturday to debate their education finance bill which increases school funding by only .6% and doesn’t keep pace with the rate of inflation. Not only does this proposal waste a golden opportunity to support Minnesota’s children, it actually moves us backwards by forcing local school districts around the state to make significant cuts to teacher and staff budgets, increase class sizes, and decrease access to early childhood education. It’s inexcusable that they’re deserting education in favor of corporate special interests, when we can afford to invest in our future. Every local school official I’ve spoken to has told me that funding in this bill is inadequate and would result in cuts. I know we can do better, so I voted against the bill.
Transportation Tuesday
On Tuesday the transportation plan was passed. The plan doesn’t include the dedicated funding increase requested by the Governor. Instead Republicans in the House took $3 billion from the state general fund, which we use to pay for education, health care, and other state needs. This transportation bill also adds billions more on the state’s credit card. Nearly three quarters of the general fund is used for educating our kids and making sure people have health care. We’ve never borrowed as much money as they’re proposing to for roads and bridges. So, the transportation bill pits kids against pot holes now and then sticks them with the credit card bill future down the road. I voted against the bill, primarily because of a lack of investment in rail safety upgrades and the excessive amount of unnecessary borrowing on the state credit card.
Jobs and Energy Thursday
On Thursday the House passed the omnibus jobs and energy bill. It reverses decades of progress made for job creation, economic development, workforce housing, and clean and renewable energy.
Provisions within the bill curtail the development of broadband in Greater Minnesota, slash job creation programs, shutter offices used to increase Minnesota’s foreign trade, reduce job retraining funds, cuts programs that help reduce homelessness, eliminate funding to protect seniors from scams, cut the wages of tipped employees, raid the unemployment insurance fund, and stop repayment of loans we were forced to take out under Governor Pawlenty.
Environment and State Government
On Friday two bills, the environment and state government bills, were passed through the House. Both continue drastic cuts to vital areas of state government. The environment bill shifts nearly $60 million out of the fund we use to clean up closed landfills, takes money from the school lands trust, and gives up on fighting Aquatic Invasive Species by cutting millions from prevention efforts. The bill also significantly overhauls the Pollution Control Agency’s Citizen Board, essentially halting the public’s ability to have a say in the state’s permitting process and allowing corporate special interests to have more say. The minority offered several amendments to strip out provisions that benefit special interests—all of those amendments failed.
The state government bill shifts millions out of state pension funds, creates unfunded burdens and eliminates spending limits on campaign spending and contributions from PACs and lobbyists. These bills pave the way for government by and for the highest bidder and they ignore the good that government does for all of us. I didn’t vote for either bill.
The Week Ahead
This week we will continue to debate several important bills. As with all of the bills heard last week, DFLer’s will continue to offer amendments to improve these bills. Today debate will begin on the Republican higher education bill that will raise tuition and lead to more student debt. On Tuesday, the omnibus health and human services bill which eliminates MinnesotaCare is scheduled to be heard. It would eliminate health insurance for thousands of hardworking Minnesotans who farm or own small businesses, when our state has a $2 billion surplus. The rest of the week’s calendar includes the omnibus public safety and omnibus liquor bills on Tuesday, and the omnibus tax bill on Wednesday. I’ll continue to update you as we debate and vote on these bills.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me with your questions and concerns.
Sincerely,
Mike Sundin
State Representative