Dear Neighbor,
Good luck to the Hancock and Albany girls basketball teams as they play in the state high school tournament this weekend.
Albany got off to a good start in the tournament by defeating Rochester Lourdes 57-41 in the Class A quarterfinals. The Huskies play Providence Academy (which defeated Montevideo 68-55) in the semifinals 6 p.m. Friday at Williams Arena. Hancock plays its first state tournament game against Nevis 5 p.m. today at Maturi Pavilion on the U of M campus.
Congratulations to both teams on excellent seasons and, again, good luck!
The most notable news from the House this week is House Democrats blocked Republican efforts recently to vote on bipartisan Senate legislation that could have prevented a tax increase from taking place despite a historic state surplus.
Now, the March 15 deadline has passed and an unnecessary tax increase is only going to add to the strain Minnesotans already are feeling with higher prices in today’s economy. People are working to recover from income losses they suffered the last couple of years and this tax increase is only going to add to their challenge.”
This issue stems from the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund becoming depleted with more people out of work during the pandemic. The federal government provided funding to the state to keep the program afloat and now that debt of more than $1 billion is due.
Gov. Tim Walz, House Republicans, Senate Republicans, and most Senate Democrats support passing a clean bill to fully replenish the UI funds. The Senate one month ago approved by a veto-proof majority legislation to do so.
But House Democrats continued to withhold that bill through the March 15 deadline. Now, a tax increase is set to take place to pay the state’s federal debt despite the fact Minnesota has a surplus of around $10 billion.
It is concerning the way members of the majority continue to indicate this issue is not a big deal. One recent article quotes Greater Minnesota employers saying they face tax increases in the tens of thousands of dollars next year. In one reported case, a 130% increase translates to a $21,000 spike.
We all will feel the impact of this tax increase one way or another, whether it’s through higher consumer prices, reduced wages or fewer benefits.
In other news, there was a press conference today to unveil a bill (H.F. 4252) I have co-authored to crack down on non-profits, like the Minnesota Freedom Fund, from registering in the state of Minnesota for the purposes of providing payments to a person or state court to help criminals pay for bail.
As crime continues to skyrocket, the Minnesota Freedom Fund has a record of making bail payments for criminals who commit other crimes following their release. Crimes committed by these repeat offenders include murder, sexual assault, and assault. One criminal supported by the Minnesota Freedom Fund was an alleged domestic abuser who murdered a man following his release on bail.
Sincerely,
Paul