ST. PAUL – With less than two weeks remaining in the 2019 legislative session, state budget negotiations had not gained traction as of Tuesday afternoon.
State Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Acton Township, said an unwillingness on the part of House Democrats and Gov. Tim Walz to move on their proposals to raise taxes by more than $12 billion over the next four years is central to the holdup.
“On the fifth day of negotiations, the Democrats still haven’t dropped one penny from their tax increases,” Urdahl said. “We don’t need to raise taxes in health care and transportation, we don’t need to raise the gas tax when we have a $1 billion surplus. It’s time for the Democrats to get serious, drop their tax increase proposals and put out a budget that reflects the needs of all of Minnesota.”
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