Dear Friends,
Our state’s latest fiscal forecast has brought good news, as state economists recently announced that Minnesota can expect a surplus of $1.544 billion for the 2020-21 budget cycle.
According to Minnesota’s fiscal experts, the good financial news is due to higher than expected revenue collections and lower than expected state government spending. Worth noting: $491 million of the surplus is being allocated to budget reserves, which now totals $2.075 billion. That leaves roughly $1 billion left to legislative discretion.
I celebrate this positive report, and I believe lawmakers need to approach this surplus not with the idea of taking on new spending commitments for our state, but in making sure that we are providing for our current obligations that are not being met.
These include our underfunded state pensions, a huge pay gap for Home and Community Based Service workers, the special education funding gap in our public schools, buffer reimbursement for farmers, roads and bridges, and more. We need to make sure that we are taking care of current commitments like these first as we analyze this state surplus.
It’s been several years since we’ve been faced with a significant budget deficit, and I believe that’s due to the budget priorities and leadership brought forward by House Republicans. Previous legislatures have spent their way into billion dollar deficits, and Minnesotans literally cannot afford to have that happen again.
Our latest economic report also currently projects a $456 million budget surplus for the 2022-23 biennium.
ELECTED AS ASSISTANT MINORITY LEADER
I am excited to share with you the news that I was recently elected by fellow Minnesota House Republicans as an Assistant Minority Leader for the 2019-2020 biennium. As an Assistant Leader, I will help develop legislative policy for House Republicans as well as assist in crafting political vision. I feel honored to have gained this trust by my colleagues in the Minnesota House and am looking forward to this added opportunity to serve the wonderful people in my district and our state through this leadership position.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT NEEDS
I had the opportunity to attend a very informational meeting at the Austin Riverland Community College campus concerning workforce development. Riverland President, Dr. Nuga Atewologun, and State Chancellor Malhotra highlighted the college’s work toward meeting workforce needs in our state and led a discussion with the many partnership attendees (representatives from government, business, k-12 schools, community, and more) on how our schools can better meet our great workforce needs. (I believe one of the things we need to do is to work on developing a more seamless relationship between our K-12 schools and our state colleges and universities.) We then had a tour of Riverland’s EMS/Fire Center and Law Enforcement simulation. Riverland has a state-of-the-art five screen threat assessment simulator. Quite the experience to watch, and it’s the only one of its kind in the Midwest. Thank you to Riverland College for hosting this important and informative event!
HAPPY 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!
Happy 50th wedding anniversary to special friends Norbert and Linda Sonnek of Wells. Norbert and Linda celebrated their special day at the American Legion in Wells with many friends and family, and I was honored to be able to join the celebration as well. May there be continued blessings in abundance for them and their family, and many more happy years together!
Have a great weekend!
Peggy