ST. PAUL – On March 21, Governor Walz, the Minnesota Senate Majority Leader, and the Speaker of the Minnesota House – all Democrats – agreed on budget spending targets for the upcoming biennium.
With Minnesota sitting on a $17 billion budget surplus, the three Democrat leaders agreed to increase state government spending by $17.9 billion over the next two years. State Representative Steve Jacob (R-Altura) said he was disappointed with their budget priorities.
“Residents are beside themselves that our leadership wants to take the surplus and incorporate all of it and then some into our next budget,” Jacob said.
Jacob said the Democrats’ $17.9 billion in new spending is a 35 percent increase from the current $52 billion budget, meaning state government spending during Fiscal Year 2024-25 will total more than $70 billion. Jacob added that most of their spending priorities will be permanent.
“People expected significant tax relief from this budget surplus, not significant spending increases,” Jacob said. “Once again, we are seeing misplaced priorities from Democrat leadership.”