ST. PAUL – On January 26, the Minnesota House approved legislation that would require inflation to be included in Minnesota’s state budget forecast.
State Representative Greg Davids (R-Preston) opposed the bill.
“We should be leaving things the way they are,” Davids said. “During my first year as tax chair, Minnesota faced a $6.2 billion shortfall. Had we switched to account for inflation back then, eliminating that deficit would have been more difficult.”
Davids added that including inflation in the biannual budget forecast means government spending would be placed on autopilot, meaning guaranteed spending increases on budgetary items without legislative approval.