Dear Friends,
Next weekend, on Saturday, February 4 from 6-9pm, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is hosting a candlelit snowshoe and hike event at Lake Carlos State Park. Enjoy hot apple cider, cookies, and a bonfire following your hike. Learn more about this unique event here.
Unaffordable, Unreliable, and Dangerous Blackout Bill Passes
Last night House Democrats passed a bill to make your electric bills increase by $1,600 a year per household. The Democrat goal of the Blackout bill is to make Minnesota 100% carbon free by 2040. But the cost to our state is high. Minnesotans will face, on average, cost increases up to $3,900 per year. Our families are already struggling to pay their energy bills, why would we burden them more?
Energy in Minnesota should be safe and reliable, the Blackout bill does not ensure either of those. Our grid already doesn’t have enough reliable power-plant capacity online to meet expected peak electricity demand. This means that we would be putting Minnesotans at risk for blackouts when they need reliable energy the most: Winter. This kind of radical policy is already wreaking havoc in places like Germany, where they are having to ration electricity as EV’s and heat pumps threaten the collapse of local power grids.
I offered several amendments to this bill because, as you know, I have deep concerns with the child slave labor that is often used to mine the materials needed for renewable energy sources. None of my amendments were adopted.
Democrats are moving at breakneck speed to pass their extreme agenda. I voted no on this bill which would be unaffordable and dangerous for Minnesotans.
Walz Wants to Tax More Instead of Returning Surplus
This week the Governor released his budget proposal that delivered on very few promises we heard on the campaign trail. Remember, Minnesota has a $17.6 billion surplus. Instead of returning that surplus to Minnesotans in the form of permanent, meaningful tax relief, the Governor is proposing tax increases and growing our government bureaucracy. Here are just a few of the ways that the Governor’s budget came up short:
- Raising the price of motor vehicle tabs, totally $92.4 million in FY2024 and $193.6 million in FY2025 alone.
- Ending the tax on social security received bipartisan support on the campaign trail. Now, the Governor only wants to exempt the social security tax for 43% of Minnesotans, saving them on average $278 per household.
- The budget totals $65.2 billion – a 25% increase in spending. $13 billion is new permanent spending.
- Only $300 million is provided for public safety. As a comparison, the Democrats want to spend HALF A BILLION DOLLARS to renovate the State Office Building.
Instead of returning the surplus, Democrats want to spend it. It’s time government acknowledges that there is a taxing problem and gives all Minnesotans a permanent, meaningful tax cut.