ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Legislature adjourned Monday, putting a bow on a two-year cycle Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, said was marked by reckless spending, needless tax increases, extreme policies and broken promises with Democrats in full control of the Capitol.
With the record $18 billion surplus last year, Swedzinski said Minnesotans deserved meaningful tax cuts at a time when in?ation and rising costs of living have family budgets stretched thin. Instead, Swedzinski said House Democrats went on a spending spree, increasing the budget by 40% – the largest budget increase in Minnesota history – and raising taxes by $10 billion in the process.
“One-party rule under Democrats has been bad for Minnesotans who want and deserve a more balanced approach from their government,” Swedzinski said. “What we’ve seen the last two years is a narrow legislative majority catering to extreme activists instead of simply listening to everyday Minnesotans and doing what’s right for them. We need more balance at the Capitol to better reflect the best wishes of our state.”
When the 2024 session began, Swedzinski said Democrats were right back at it, raising the cost of a new worker leave program by half a billion dollars before it even begins, and proposing many other unpopular and unnecessary tax and fee increases that take money out of the pockets of Minnesota families.
Along the way, Swedzinski said Democrats officially put Minnesota taxpayers on the hook for a $730 million State Office Building remodel despite Republicans proposing more reasonably priced alternatives.
Republicans spent part of the 2024 session successfully resolving significant problems he said Democrats created in 2023, Swedzinski said. Most notably, he pointed to a fix to the tax bill, getting school resource officers back in all the buildings they had been serving, and correcting a net-operating loss issue. Legislation Republicans championed to provide an additional $30 million for Emergency Ambulance Service Aid also received legislative approval.
Swedzinski indicated Democrats enacted several highly controversial, partisan policy measures with one party in control the last two years. He said this includes adopting some of the world’s most extreme abortion policy, enacting a state-funded speech registry that could undermine First Amendment rights, and declaring Minnesota a sanctuary state for transgender healthcare – for children. In addition, Swedzinski said a Democrat provision ended electronic pull tabs as we knew them, dealing a major blow to local charitable organizations.
Religious freedom was another high-profile issue this session after Democrats last year eliminated religious protections against discrimination claims that had been in our state for decades. A variation of Republican legislation was enacted into law this session re-establishing protections for religious entities.
“It was a major win for us to restore freedom of religion protections that were taken away last year,” Swedzinski said. “Not only that, but we also successfully worked to make sure another bill that squashes rights for Minnesotans did not reach enactment this year.”
Swedzinski said a number of things that did not happen this biennium were the result of Democrats failing to deliver on promises they made to Minnesotans. In particular, he said this includes voting against bills that would ensure our of?cers have the resources they need, not achieving full Social Security tax relief, and not providing $2,000 rebate checks.
-30-