ST. PAUL – The 2023 legislative session concluded Monday and Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, said it will be most remembered for a Democrat trifecta treating a narrow majority as a sweeping mandate for passing a far-left agenda.
From a fiscal standpoint, Niska said the new two-year state budget Democrats approved will increase spending by more than 40 percent (from $52 billion to $72 billion) while raising taxes by almost $10 billion despite a $17.5 billion state surplus. This includes raising the state’s gas tax by 3.5 cents per gallon and tying it to inflation, increasing license tab fees, adding a 50-cent delivery tax, applying a new payroll tax that will hit employers and employees alike, and more.
“This is so far beyond what most Minnesotans support and it highlights why the Democrat trifecta is bad for our state,” Niska said. “They are shooting the moon by taking extreme, activist-based positions on virtually every issue as long as they have their hands on all levers of government in St. Paul.
“They are sending state spending into orbit and raised taxes by nearly $10 billion despite a massive surplus. What is even more surprising is the number of measures they are putting into law that everyday Minnesotans are not asking for, from ending e-pull tabs as we know them to creating a speech registry to track controversial views. The list goes on.”
Meanwhile, Niska said Democrats failed to provide a full elimination of the state’s Social Security tax despite nearly universal support for that move. And, after Gov. Tim Walz began the session by supporting $2,000 surplus rebates for joint filers, Niska said Democrats ultimately approved just a fraction of that amount – $260 per person, or $520 per couple.
Aside from state finances, Niska indicated Democrats enacted several highly controversial, partisan policy measures. He said this includes adopting some of the world’s most extreme abortion policy and adopting gun-control laws Niska indicated will do more to burden law-abiding citizens than thwart violent criminals.
Niska has been an ardent opponent of creating a state-based speech registry, which he said has First Amendment implications. He indicated an all-Democrat conference committee made changes that made it appear a proposed statewide bias speech registry had been removed from the final bill. Niska said that’s not the case, indicating it provides funding to support staff and a database for creating a bias registry – but under a different name.
“This is reckless and dishonest,” Niska said. “This shows why Minnesotans cannot trust this one-party, Democrat ruling trifecta in our state.”
Legislation Niska authored for local capital investment projects was included in a package both bodies approved before adjourning. Appropriations include $6.1 million to address water contamination in the Red Oaks neighborhood of Andover and $3.2 million for a Ramsey water treatment facility.
Niska also said he is pleased legislative Republicans scored a big win for nursing homes by successfully negotiating $300 million more than Democrats had proposed. He said this added funding will help that industry at a time nursing homes have been forced to close and families have been left scrambling to find care for their loved ones.
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