Dear Friends,
Last week Gov. Walz unveiled his budget and education proposals while Republicans fought for wedding venues to reopen a full capacity.
Gov. Walz’s Budget
The Governor $52.4 billion budget, which he unveiled last Tuesday, was big on spending and tax increases and light on ways to help Minnesotans through the economic crisis brought on by his shutdowns. His plan includes a 15% tax increase on businesses and a 10% hike on Minnesota’s top tax bracket. The proposal only calls for $150 million in cuts, or about 0.3% of the budget.
Gov. Walz claimed that he only wants to tax the rich, but of his $1.7 billion proposed tax increases, $941 million are regressive taxes that will hurt Minnesotans at every income level. The Minnesota Management and Budget office estimates show that increasing corporate, sales, and tobacco taxes disproportionately impact low-income Minnesotans harder than the wealthy.
We need to put together a budget that asks state government to do its part to tighten its belt and balance our budget without tax hikes that would devastate our economic recovery.
“Due North” is a “Do-Nothing” Education Plan
As a public school parent, I was shocked to learn more about Gov. Walz’s proposed “Due North” education plan. His proposal was short on specifics other than how we need to indoctrinate our children with alternative versions of American history. We need to be focusing on improving reading and math scores and getting our kids back on track after a year of distance learning.
Last Monday kicked off School Choice Week. I will always fight to ensure that every parent is able to choose the school that best serve their children. Making sure that our kids have an array of educational opportunities is the best way to ensure our students have a bright future.
Wedding Venue Capacity
I have heard from so many of our beautiful wedding venues in our community how they are hurting under Gov. Walz’s COVID restrictions. It makes no sense that restaurants can have 150 for indoor dining and yet a wedding reception with food can only have 10 people from 2 households. Last Thursday, my colleagues and I fought to remove this absurd restriction to allow wedding venues to operate at full capacity. Of course, the Democrats shut it down, but I will keep fighting for our engaged couples and venues to get this restriction lifted.
Please Contact Me
If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government, please feel free to contact me at either 651-296-3201 or rep.mary.franson@house.mn. I would love to hear from you.
It’s an honor to represent the best!
Mary