Dear Neighbor,
Before we get to legislative news, I want to congratulate the Anoka High School boys basketball team for advancing to this week’s state tournament. It was a Tornadoes section championship sweep this season, with the boys and girls teams both earning Section 7-4A titles. Great season, Anoka basketball teams!
Here is the latest from the Capitol this week:
Returning state surplus dollars
House Democrats voted down a Republican bill that would allow citizens to decide if a portion of future budget surpluses should be returned to taxpayers. This bill aims to prevent a repeat of 2023, when Democrats, with full control of the Capitol, spent an $18 billion surplus, driving a 40% increase in the state budget and raising taxes by $10 billion in the process.
Despite promises to use the historic surplus to deliver $2,000 rebate checks and provide much needed relief for families struggling with record inflation, Democrats pulled a bait and switch. Instead of giving the money back to the taxpayers who earned it, the Democrats seized the opportunity to massively expand government. Rather than offering relief, they spent every last dollar on government growth that will cost Minnesotans more year after year.
The bill (H.F. 4) itself proposes a constitutional amendment question on the 2026 general election ballot, asking voters to decide whether future budget surpluses should be automatically refunded via a new Minnesota Tax Relief Fund. Placing the principle of surplus returns in the Minnesota Constitution protects taxpayers from future overreach and promotes financial accountability in state government.
As I asked on the House floor as the bill was debated: Do we trust Minnesotans to make decisions about their own money, or do we continue to let politicians in this chamber spend it for them? Click here for the full clip of my floor speech.
Unfortunately, House Democrats sided with government instead of the people during a vote on this bill, stopping it in a 67-67 party-line vote.
Bill passes House
A bipartisan bill I authored to improve the Business Corporations Act in Minnesota passed the House unopposed this week. It is the first bill with me as chief author to pass the body as a stand-alone. This bill (H.F. 747) updates the Minnesota Business Corporation Act several ways, all with the goal of making our state a better place to incorporate a business. We now await action on this bill in the Senate.
Budget work
The House’s biggest job this session is to set a new two-year state budget. That process is about to hit full stride as we work to put a plan in place and adjourn on time May 19.
The first step toward agreeing on a new budget could be for Democrats to acknowledge increasing state spending by 40 percent as they did in 2023 is unsustainable. Tax increases should be off the table because it is clear our state has a spending problem, not a revenue shortage.
Bipartisanship is requisite for passage of any bill in this divided House, which adds a layer of uncertainty to how things will unfold. Also, you can’t help but wonder where the governor’s priorities will be over the final weeks of session. Will he be here – serving Minnesotans – or busy traveling the nation on a publicity tour?
As I recently told KARE 11, we really haven't seen a lot of engagement from the governor job at all. It’s really unfortunate because we didn't have Democrats show up for work at the beginning of the legislative session, and now we have a Democratic governor who is not showing up for his job, and instead, his focus is elsewhere.
Have a good weekend and, as always, your input is welcome.
Sincerely,
Harry