ST. PAUL – Today Senate Republicans held a press conference to announce the start of their “Repair Agenda” for this legislative session. Legislators have already had to repair the first piece of legislation with last week’s tax correction fix. The agenda over the next two weeks includes repairs to the School Resource Officers program. Both of these were issues caused directly by one-party control and the speed at which Democrats rammed through their agenda.
“What we saw last session was just how damaging single-party control can be. Spending $17.5 billion surplus on a partisan agenda with an insatiable appetite for tax increases has hurt family budgets, small businesses, schools, and put us on a path towards budget deficits,” Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson (R- East Grand Forks) said. “This session, Senate Republicans will propose some very commonsense, bipartisan repairs to fix the damage done from Democrats.”
At the top of the list for Republicans is repairing the damage done to family budgets after Democrats spend the entire surplus and raised taxes by $10 billion to support a 40% increase in state spending. “Tax hikes passed last year were completely unacceptable when we had a historic surplus,” Johnson said. “And the current forecast shows a looming deficit, despite the increase in revenues. Last session really demonstrates how much damage the ‘tax and spend’ Democrat agenda can do in just 5 months.”
A tax bill fix already passed by the House and Senate was missing a vital repair needed by small businesses. The net operating loss change in subtraction was supposed to begin in 2025, but the bill mistakenly started it this year. That mistake means small businesses and entrepreneurs will be paying about $15 million more in taxes this year. “Leaving out the correction for small businesses to deduct their losses is a disappointment to Minnesota’s small businesses owners and entrepreneurs,” Senate Committee Tax Lead Bill Weber (R- Luverne) said last week. “The Committee Chairs made a promise to fix this mistake at the earliest possibility, and yet here we are, still waiting for a bill.” Republicans said they will work to repair this mistake to give main street employers the relief they need.
School budgets are also reeling from last session. Despite the historic increase in funding, more than 60 new mandates have chewed through half the increase, leaving many schools looking at red in their bottom line. “The number of mandates and strings attached to last year’s funding has put schools in a tough spot,” Sen. Jason Rarick (Pine City), Lead Republican the Education Policy/Finance Committee said. “We know that no two schools are the same. They have their own unique needs and services, and they should be able to make locally driven decisions on how to use the funding we provide.”
“Schools are drowning in the red tape attached to the funding last year,” Sen. Coleman (Waconia) Lead Republican on the Education Policy Committee said. “Schools really only need one mandate: to ensure our kids are getting a quality education that meets academic expectations When we tie up funding for something that may or may not contribute to that one goal, we’re also tying their hands at addressing the real learning challenges kids have today. From covid loss to the achievement gap, schools want flexibility to address their needs exactly how they best see fit.”
To repair school budgets, Republicans propose allowing any of the 2023 funding to be used for a local need, effectively cutting the red tape of bureaucracy, and giving schools the freedom they need to educate students, hire staff, and keep schools safe.
A bonding bill for public projects is usually the focus of the non-budget year. Last year’s $2.6 billion bonding bill was the largest in state history, and the state has essentially maxed out the credit card based on the December forecast. However, last year’s bill included errors that now need to be repaired. “We have already agreed to pass a fix-it bill for last year’s bonding projects,” Sen. Karin Housley (Stillwater), Lead Republican on the Capital Investment Committee announced.
Pending the forecast released later this week, Republicans proposed a more modest build that has just the basics included. “For years we’ve heard how great the need is, but last year a billion dollars in borrowing went to politically aligned special interest groups. We need to repair the bonding process by focusing on the core infrastructure and regional needs for safe roads and clean water,” Sen. Housley said.
“Democrats rushed through many bills last year, but questions linger about the quality and potential negative impacts of some measures,” Johnson concluded. “We will soon propose repairs related to energy, childcare, education policy, and other areas to address any unintended consequences. In addition to our repairs today, these efforts aim to make life more affordable for families, curb government spending, and reduce the burden on taxpayers.”