Hello from St. Paul,
The Minnesota House and Senate have reached their first and second committee deadlines. In order for a policy bill to move forward this session, it must be approved by a committee before today’s deadline. Next Friday is the third committee deadline, when most finance bills need to be approved.
This includes the area of judiciary finance, which is the committee in which I chair. Negotiations are underway, and though no compromise has been reached as of today, I am confident we will reach an agreement in the coming days.
HOUSE BUDGET FRAMEWORK WILL NOT RAISE TAXES
Recognizing that decisions made by Democrats last session to waste an $18 billion surplus, raise taxes by $10 billion, and grow government spending by 40% has led to a projected budget deficit, House leaders agreed to a framework that will begin to right-size our state’s budget.
The framework reduces state spending by $3.9 billion when compared to the 2024-25 budget and is $1.159 billion below the 2026-27 budget base. For the 2028-2029 projected budget, more than $2.6 billion in spending would be eliminated.
Worth noting, the House position towards solving an expected $6 billion budget deficit crisis is to avoid any tax increases.
WORK IN MINNESOTA IF YOU RECEIVE FREE COLLEGE TUITION
This week, the Minnesota House higher education committee debated my bill that would require those who are receiving free college tuition in Minnesota through the North Star Promise to actually begin their career in Minnesota.
The bill requires the recipient to reside and be employed in Minnesota for every year they received free North Star Promise tuition. If the recipient fails to meet this requirement, the amount of the scholarship is converted into a loan that the recipient is required to repay with interest.
This is a common sense bill that ensures the taxpayers are receiving some benefit from their generous contribution. If the State of Minnesota helps you through college, it should be a reasonable expectation that the student utilizes his or her expertise in our state for a very small amount of time.
Have a good weekend,
Peggy