Hello from the State Capitol,
When the state has a $9.3 billion budget surplus, much of any legislative session is going to be spent determining what to do with that excess revenue. Recently, the Minnesota House Democrat majority outlined its plan, which would spend $7.4 billion of the surplus.
The spending increase amounts to an additional 14% on government programs, meaning during this current two-year budget cycle the state’s budget would total $59 billion if the House Democrat plan was signed into law. Their supplemental budget proposals will be making their way to the House floor in the coming days.
The Minnesota Senate has taken a different approach, using the majority of the surplus for tax relief.
With one month remaining before session ends, expect negotiations on how to allocate the surplus to go down to the wire. But also remember lawmakers are under no obligation to do anything with it. State agency budgets were set last year and are fully funded. The surplus would have to be accounted for during the 2023 session, which is when Minnesota’s next biennial budget would be set.
NO PROGRESS ON LOCAL EMPLOYER TAX INCREASE
A month ago, local employers learned they would be facing a 15% or more tax increase because the Minnesota House Democrat majority made the political decision not to begin replenishing Minnesota’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) trust fund. At that time, House Speaker Melissa Hortman stated that lawmakers actually had until April 30 – the date payments were due – to act.
Well, we’re 9 days out from the date the Speaker believes is the true deadline, and the House majority has done nothing to address the topic.
Consider this: Minnesota has been wasting and will continue to waste $50,000 a day just in interest costs due to this inaction. If the trust fund is not repaid using available state surplus or federal COVID revenue, it will ultimately result in ten years of higher taxes on every Minnesota employer.
Again, there is overwhelming bipartisan support to do the right thing. Senate Democrats and Republicans have already passed legislation that would solve the problem and eliminate this unneeded tax increase. Governor Walz, his administration, and House Republicans all support the measure. If you’re a job provider wondering why your taxes have gone up and why this problem hasn’t been addressed, look no further than House Democrats who are purposely choosing to stall rather than play ball.
PUBLIC SAFETY BILLS DO NOT RECEIVE HEARING
As committee deadlines had passed, any bill that has not received a hearing cannot move forward this year. Unfortunately, this means numerous proposals that would hold criminals responsible for their actions and help recruit and retain peace officers are dead in the Minnesota House, as the House majority’s public safety committee chairman refused to hear them.
However, that committee did choose to move bills that give money to violence-interrupters, grow the state government bureaucracy by tens of millions of dollars, and add dozens of new full-time employees to a St. Paul office building rather than on the streets.
Fortunately, the Minnesota Senate did approve a number of common-sense plans that will improve safety in our communities, and I’m hopeful that by session’s end many of them will head to Governor Walz for his signature.
LCCMR BILL APPROVED IN HOUSE
The House passed a version of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) bill this week. The bill includes $1.78 million to the City of Hastings to develop a master plan for Lake Rebecca Park. This is a project that I’ve been advocating for along with Hastings Parks Director Chris Jenkins. My predecessor in the House, former Rep. Denny McNamara, served on LCCMR until recently and was instrumental in developing the project request and working to have the project included in the House bill.
MINNESOTA HOUSE LAWMAKERS TOUR HASTINGS VETERANS HOME
With the Minnesota House’s capital investment bill scheduled to be unveiled very soon, I recently invited interested state representatives to come down and tour the facility and see first-hand why it needs to be updated.
The more support we can get for the veterans who call this campus home, the better. Last week the governor and our federal delegation were here stating their support to improve the Hastings Veterans Home campus, and I’m hopeful the Minnesota House will give its approval as well.
Have a good weekend,
Tony