By Rep. Matt Bliss
The 2024 session starts Feb. 12 and, as always, plenty of challenges await the Legislature’s return to St. Paul. Here’s a quick look at just some of what is on tap.
This is not an official budget year by name, with the state’s fiscal plan for the current two-year cycle enacted last spring. However, there are some fiscal matters to address. There were errors in last year’s tax bill that need to be corrected. We also should make some adjustments to help avoid sinking into a shortfall in the next biennium as projected after Democrats spent the $17.5 billion surplus and raised taxes by $10 billion to grow government spending by 40 percent.
The $730 million renovation of the State Office Building at the Capitol campus Democrats approved serves as a glaring example of Minnesota taxpayer abuse. The entire new Senate building was constructed within the last decade at a much lower cost of $90 million.
We need to be better stewards of our taxpayers’ dollars. Higher consumer prices already are crushing Minnesotans, with reports indicating we need nearly $13,000 to afford the same standard of living we had just a couple of years. Our state is on a trajectory of tax-and-spend increases that simply cannot be sustained.
Unfortunately, it does not appear the party in control got that memo. Instead, they are now looking to take even more of your money with a bill to tax “unrealized profits.” If you own mutual funds, stocks or even a family business, you will be taxed on what the government thinks your property is worth even before you sell it.
More balance is needed in St. Paul. Let’s work to eliminate wasteful government spending so we can deliver permanent tax relief for Minnesota families to help people afford groceries, gas, and other everyday essentials.
School safety is another issue that needs to be revisited this year. A change in law Democrats enacted last year caused school resource officers to be removed from districts throughout our state, jeopardizing the safety of students, teachers and staff. Let’s achieve reasonable, common-sense solutions instead of catering to extremists at the expense of public safety – our state’s foremost responsibility to its citizens.
As always, I will be paying close attention to veterans issues this session. I am beyond thrilled to see the new veterans home in Bemidji is finally welcoming its first residents after many of us worked so hard to secure the funding that allowed it to become reality.
Assisted suicide is another issue for this session that has surfaced after House Democrats conducted a hearing to discuss a bill allowing this practice to occur in Minnesota. Creating new ways for Minnesotans to end life clearly is a priority for the party in control, either through their extreme abortion law or, now, assisted suicide legislation.
While the current bill restricts assisted suicide to individuals 18 or older, the Legislature has a long history of expanding a minor’s right to consent to healthcare. There is great concern this camel’s nose under the tent could be further expanded. Remember how hard Democrats fought against providing additional funding for our ailing nursing homes last spring before finally relenting to Republicans who delivered $300 million? It certainly raises questions.
As one person put it: “The risk lies not in undervaluing personal autonomy for the few who currently want assisted suicide, but in normalizing attitudes that prioritize convenience over compassion.”
Please stay in touch regarding these issues and more – including defending our Second Amendment – this session. I appreciate the input and am honored for the continued support as your state representative.
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