ST. PAUL – State Rep. Bernie Perryman, R-St. Cloud, has co-authored legislation for a constitutional amendment that would guarantee future state budget surpluses are returned directly to Minnesotans.
Perryman said the bill (H.F. 4) is an attempt to prevent history from repeating itself. She indicated the $18 billion surplus in the last biennium should have been used to help people manage the poor economy and deliver tax relief for Minnesotans. Instead, Perryman said, it was used to expand government programs and create new ones, resulting in a 40-percent increase in the state budget with a $10 billion tax increase to boot.
“People want to know where the surplus went,” Perryman said. “They know they didn’t get a check in the mail and their taxes sure didn’t go down, so where did it go? The sad fact is one-party control used it to fuel a spending spree and we need to make sure that never happens again. That’s why we put this bill forward.”
The bill Perryman has co-authored establishes a Minnesota tax relief account, with the legislature appropriating funds each biennium into this fund to return excess tax collections back to taxpayers via refunds. Any projected revenues that go over 5 percent of projected expenditures according to the last biennial budget forecast will be used to fund the account.
By placing the principle of surplus returns in the Minnesota Constitution, Perryman said the bill protects taxpayers from future overreach and ensures financial accountability in state government.
“We owe it to the citizens of Minnesota to be careful stewards of their hard-earned money,” Perryman said. “Unfortunately, our state has a history of straying from that mission with reckless spending and needless tax increases. This bill will help keep the state in check and protect taxpayers.”
This proposal is part of a larger package unveiled by House Republicans aimed at addressing Minnesota’s rising cost of living. The package includes two other bills Perryman is championing to provide immediate relief and long-term solutions:
- HF 5 co-authored by Perryman repeals a retail delivery fee and eliminates the state tax on Social Security income.
- HF 9: co-authored by Perryman modernizes renewable energy policies by including hydroelectric power as an eligible renewable energy source, delaying impractical mandates, and protecting reliable energy infrastructure to stabilize energy costs.
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