As you know, I am a common sense guy. I am committed to the principles we share, but I also believe in the importance of relationships and working together. And that is how I approach my job as your state senator – I strive to serve you with practical ideas that are grounded in Minnesota values.
Unfortunately, with complete one-party control of government, Democrats don’t appear to share that view. Last session they singularly focused on imposing their agenda with little care for bipartisan input or responsible governing. Now, Minnesotans face the consequences.
On February 29, the state’s budget office issued its annual February forecast. It showed a $3.7 billion surplus for the moment, but also a giant warning sign: a $1.5 billion structural deficit. In other words, we are spending $1.5 billion more every budget cycle than we are collecting – and Minnesota already collects way too much from taxpayers.
Many of us tried to warn Democrats of the unsustainable financial path they were charting by increasing government spending by 40%, failing to give back the surplus, and raising $10 billion in taxes. The February forecast is exactly why. That structural deficit might not be a problem today, but it will be a big one tomorrow if we pretend it is no big deal. We have to get this spending problem under control, or Minnesotans will be hit with even more taxes down the line.
Getting our spending addiction under control is a plank in our recently announced agenda for this year. The Senate Republican “Repair Minnesota” agenda will address mistakes and reverse the negative consequences of the 2023 session.
We already began this process with a recent tax corrections bill, which reversed a $352 million tax increase that Democrats approved last year. We’re continuing to push Democrats to fix an additional tax increase that was left out of the bill – a drafting error that will hit small businesses hard. The Senate and House Tax Committee Chairs – both Democrats – promised to correct the mistake as soon as possible, but they broke that promise when they left it out of the tax corrections bill. Fixing this remains an urgent priority.
We are continuing to negotiate a solution to the Democrats’s short-sighted school resource officer law from 2023, which caused those SROs to be pulled from schools across the state. Law enforcement, school officials, and families have been vocal about why this is such a critical issue, and I’m glad Democrats finally seem to agree. I’m optimistic we will get this solved soon.
Another priority is dialing back crushing education mandates. Last session we once again passed historic funding for schools – a bipartisan priority. But that funding was tied to a wave of mandates that have backed districts into a financial corner. Our Repair Minnesota plan would free up funding for each district to apply toward their unique needs and priorities. Your local school knows what it needs far better than bureaucrats in St. Paul. We need to get off their backs.
These are just a few examples, but there are many more. I believe we still have an opportunity to repair the damage from last year and put Minnesota on strong footing again. But we have to work together to do it.
One-party control set us on an unsustainable, dangerous path. Bipartisanship and cooperation can get us back on track.