It was good seeing FFA students from Melrose and other towns around the state at the Capitol last week. I always enjoy talking with FFA students because they tell the story of agriculture so well, with such enthusiasm, and are great ambassadors for the industry.
Dear Neighbor,
There seems to be a rather large disconnect between our state’s overflowing revenue and the tight budgets families and businesses are facing with today’s higher prices.
This gap seems to only be widening, as evidenced by the latest state economic forecast issued earlier this week by Minnesota Management & Budget. The updated forecast projects a $9.3 billion biennial surplus, an increase of $1.5 billion from the $7.7 billion surplus projected just last November.
Our state government is fully funded for the biennium, and we need to spend this session looking at the best ways we can return surplus dollars to Minnesotans. This needs to be a thorough discussion so we can proceed carefully since this surplus is mainly the result of over $70 billion pumped into our state from covid-relief programs. We also should bear in mind it is unclear how turmoil abroad may impact us.
While the House Republican calls for tax relief will be ongoing this session, there is one tax issue of a more time-sensitive manner regarding the state’s depleted unemployment insurance funds. The Legislature must act by March 15 to replenish the UI account and prevent a substantial tax increase from being placed upon our businesses.
The Senate already overwhelmingly passed its UI bill a couple of weeks ago on a bipartisan vote. Gov. Walz, House Republicans, Senate Republicans, and Senate Democrats all support full UI relief. Unfortunately, there is no real progress to report from the House on this issue. The majority has lacked urgency on the matter and seems to be holding the issue back as a negotiating tool.
I encourage my friends across the aisle to come forward with a clean bill to resolve the UI issue so we can provide bipartisan support and eliminate any potential of having businesses suffer an unnecessary, costly tax increase at a time the state has a historic surplus.
A recent newspaper article provides some anecdotal projections showing this would result in tax increases in the 10s of thousands of dollars for Minnesota businesses – costs that ultimately would be passed along to consumers at a time we already are dealing with rapid price increases.
On a final note, House Republicans this week unveiled a package of bill to address our 2022 public safety priorities. The package focuses on three key areas: crime prevention and accountability for criminals; police recruitment and retention; and holding the criminal justice system accountable.
I may take a closer look at some of the measures included in this collection of bills in an upcoming newsletter. Until next time, have a good weekend and please let me know how I can help.
Sincerely,
Paul