Dear Neighbor,
The House’s regularly scheduled committee work has concluded and now the focus for the last month of the 2022 session will turn toward bringing bills to the floor for robust discussion and votes.
I am in the process of scheduling town hall meetings in our area and those will be good opportunities to take a closer look at what’s at stake at the Capitol late this session. Look for details on those events soon.
While it’s typical for major bills to remain unresolved until the final stages of any given session, it has been more than a little concerning to see the lack of progress in the House on legislation to repay the deficit in Minnesota’s unemployment insurance trust fund and reverse the recent tax hikes that Minnesota employers are suffering.
It is ridiculous this item of business remains unresolved, especially at a time the state has a surplus of around $10 billion. Every day that passes without resolution costs Minnesota taxpayers $50,000 in interest.
There is broad, bipartisan support for taking care of this issue and, by a veto-proof margin, the Senate approved legislation to do so more than two months ago. But House Democrats so far remain unwilling to bring a bill to the floor so we can put this issue behind us.
Members of the House majority downplayed the original March 15 deadline prescribed by state officials, insisting that lawmakers had until April 30, when tax bills are due, to act on this matter. Well, that “real” deadline is now approaching and we’re still not seeing any movement in the House. And the supplemental budget package assembled by the House majority includes $0 for UI repayment. If the trust fund is not repaid, it would result in 10 years of higher taxes on employers.
That is just one important agreement that needs to be reached during the final month of the session as supplemental finance bills related to the state’s massive surplus come to the forefront. With the state already fully funded for the biennium, the House and the Senate have come forward with their plans for appropriating the excess revenue.
The Senate is focusing more on tax relief and recently passed the largest tax cut in state history, at more than $8 billion. The average tax relief per filer would be $759, with a family making $100,000 per year receiving a tax break of $1,066 every year. Meanwhile, House Democrats propose $21 in new government spending for every $1 in tax cuts, with $12.2 billion in new government spending which represents a 14-percent state spending increase.
There undoubtedly will be a lot of twists and turns with these budget bills through the end of the session. The House will spend next week taking votes on omnibus finance bills and then conference committees will work to resolve differences between the House and Senate so legislation can come back for consideration on final approval.
Watch for more as things develop in St. Paul, along with upcoming details on town hall meetings in our district.
Sincerely,
Matt