Dear Neighbor,
The state has a $19 billion surplus but House Democrats still want to effectively end electronic pull tabs as we know them, dramatically reducing revenue generated for local charities and other organizations.
How twisted is that?
Language in the majority’s omnibus tax bill (H.F. 1938) eliminates the “open all” feature that has been in use in electronic pull-tab games for years. This move would diminish charitable gaming funds these popular games produce, compromising a critical revenue source for local charities ranging from veteran organizations to youth sports teams, Main Street business partners and beyond.
House Democrats are partnering with their special-interest friends to destroy our communities’ charitable funding. These groups are essential to our local communities and are great assets to us in Greater Minnesota. It would be a disgrace for House Democrats to do them so wrong by shutting down a main source of their revenue.
In 2022 alone, electronic pull tabs generated almost $2 billion in revenue that was then invested into communities. Without this critical revenue stream, much of the charitable efforts Minnesotans currently benefit from would not be possible.
Not only that, but this would have large consequences for our local bars and restaurants that already are trying to recover from revenue lost to forced shutdowns at a time price increases, supply issues and a workforce shortage already are stacked against them. Choking out electronic pull tabs would cause even more significant, negative impacts.
All of this financial hardship threatening outstate small businesses and charities is happening at a time the Democrats just authorized $17,000 per month in rent for the governor's temporary residence the next 18 months.
I continue working with House Democrats to remove this pull tab provision from the tax bill, but it's critical that legislators hear directly from charities, bars, restaurants, service clubs, and other community organizations so they understand just how serious the consequences would be if this provision is passed.
More information regarding this bill and contact information for legislators can be found at www.house.mn.gov.
In other news:
Even higher energy costs
House Democrats on Monday approved an environment and energy omnibus package (H.F. 2310) which increases costs on everything from utility bills to hunting and fishing, boating, and visiting state parks.
Overall, the net general fund spending the for climate and energy section of the bill represents a 513% increase over the current base funding and a 2,286% growth of the Renewable Development Account. The environment portion raises millions of dollars in fees – despite the state enjoying a $17.5 billion surplus.
Every decision the state makes related to energy policy should aim to bring greater affordability, reliability and safety to Minnesotans. This bill does the opposite, with mandates to drive up energy costs, unnecessary or complicated regulations and subsidies for the richest Minnesotans to purchase expensive electric vehicles.
The bill also imposes “energy benchmarking” mandates on owners of commercial buildings with 50,000 or more square feet. Property owners would be required to log the building’s energy use, with the Department of Commerce then required to publish online the address, total energy use, energy use intensity, greenhouse gas emissions, and an energy performance score. The author of this provision freely admits this process would shame property owners into efficiency and endorses this practice of “green shaming.”
House Republicans offered numerous amendments to improve energy provisions in the bill, but House Democrats blocked them all.
Bipartisan veterans bill passes
The Minnesota House on Tuesday approved a veterans and military affairs finance package that shows bipartisan work still can happen. The vote was 131-0.
The bill (H.F. 1937) provides $367.7 million for programs to help veterans over the 2024-25 biennium, a $167 million (52%) increase. This includes $73.3 million for the Dept. of Military Affairs and $294.3 million for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. This includes operational funding for three new veterans homes.
Thank you to our veterans and I am pleased we put you first with this bill.
Housing bill
House Democrats approved a housing omnibus finance package this week. With cost increases and a shortage of housing a major problem facing many Minnesotans, the legislation does little to address the underlying problems that have put our state in this situation.
This plan focuses too much on the metro-area funding, as well as rental subsidies, with a noticeable lack of workforce housing in Greater Minnesota especially disappointing. The Housing bill also includes a .25% increase in retail sales tax for the seven-county metro area that will go toward rental assistance – another regressive tax increase at a time the state has a $19 billion surplus.
On the surface, it might seem like programs to help low-income people afford housing are good, humanitarian efforts. The problem is Democrats are creating new funding mechanisms that push more and more people into relying on these programs which, in turn causes more demand for programs and added administrative costs. The labyrinth of funding is nearly impossible to track and it leaves you asking, “Where are all these taxpayer dollars actually going?” It’s more government growth feeding more government growth at the taxpayers' expense.
I’ll be back with more soon and your input always is welcome.
Sincerely,
Shane