Dear Neighbor,
Happy St. Patrick’s Day as we work toward the end of another busy week of meetings in the House. Before we run through the latest legislative news, I want to recognize that March is Women’s History Month. It is a good time to look back at contributions women have made over time while also looking forward to women making increased contributions in all walks of life.
As for the latest notes from the Capitol:
Unnecessary tax increase takes effect
It is unfortunate to see a tax increase is taking place at a time when the state has around $10 billion in surplus tax revenue and people already are seeing price increases at 40-year highs.
This occurred after House Democrats blocked two separate recent efforts by House Republicans to vote on bipartisan Senate legislation that would replenish our state’s depleted unemployment insurance trust fund and prevent a tax increase from happening.
For background, the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund was drained with more people out of work during the pandemic. The federal government provided funding to the state to keep the program afloat and now that debt of more than $1 billion is due. A bill needed to be enacted by March 15 to restore funding in the trust fund, otherwise a tax increase would take place by default.
The latter turned out to be the case after House Democrats twice blocked our efforts to declare urgency on this matter and approve a bill. While this tax formally would be imposed on employers, we’ll all feel it one way or another with costs being passed on to consumers.
This tax increase was completely avoidable, and it is concerning the majority does not seem to understand the ramifications of failing to fix this issue by the March 15 deadline. Gov. Tim Walz, House Republicans, Senate Republicans, and most Senate Democrats support passing a clean bill to fully replenish the UI funds. The Senate one month ago approved by a veto-proof majority legislation to do resolve this matter and all the House had to do was pass it and send it to the governor for enactment.
Members of the House majority continue to downplay the impacts of their inaction on this issue, but real-life reports indicate the tax increases could be significant. One recent article quotes Greater Minnesota employers saying they face tax increases in the tens of thousands of dollars next year. A 130% increase in one reported case translates to a $21,000 spike.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development also has raised significant concerns about the consequences of not enacting UI legislation by the deadline. DEED Commissioner Steve Grove recently told members of the House workforce committee Monday that time is critical. “As of (March 15) this gets a lot harder to unwind, and time is of the essence on this piece,” Grove said.
Bill to curtail bail-paying groups
A bill (H.F. 4252) has been introduced by House Republicans to crack down on non-profits, such as the Minnesota Freedom Fund, from registering in the state of Minnesota for the purposes of funding criminals to make bail.
This issue needs to be addressed because, as crime continues to skyrocket, the Minnesota Freedom Fund has a record of making bail payments for criminals who commit other crimes following their release. Crimes committed by these repeat offenders include murder, sexual assault, and assault. One criminal supported by the Minnesota Freedom Fund was an alleged domestic abuser who murdered a man following his release on bail.
Watch for more on these and other issues soon. Hope you have a good weekend and, as always, please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Lisa