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Friends and Neighbors,
We?ve reached the end. This legislative session has been one of the busiest I have ever experienced, but we have ended for the year with a completed state budget. Unfortunately, many of the bills were rushed through the process along party lines with little to no Republican input. The impact of this extreme wishlist is concerning, and the numbers reflect its potential damage to our state.
Broken Promises Last summer countless democrats across the state, including Governor Walz, tried to outdo each other with the size of rebate checks they would send out using our historic tax surplus. But now that the budget is buttoned up that number has shrunk down from the $2,000 he was floating last summer to a measly $260.
The Largest Tax Increase in State History With the combined increases in these budget bills Democrats have raised over $9.5 billion in taxes when our state already had $17.5 billion in surplus. This results in an over 40% increase in state government spending. When Minnesotans need to tighten their budgets under Biden-Walz inflation it is unthinkable that state government would do the exact opposite.
Attack on Our Charities One provision in the tax bill that Democrats fought tooth and nail for and pushed through the final bill is major changes to E-Pull Tabs in bars and restaurants. Charitable gambling funds many important community organizations like children's sports teams and veterans associations. These organizations and the small businesses that support them will see revenue losses when these changes go into effect.
Unaffordable and Unreliable Energy More mandates on our energy production will damage the reliability of our grid and increase costs for all Minnesotans. You can look at the real-time MISO grid here and it becomes clear that these green energy mandates can nowhere meet demands. When reliable energy can mean life and death for large portions of the year it is unthinkable that we would kneecap our production like this.
A Win for the GOP This session wasn?t all terrible though. One measure I?m very proud of is holding Democrat?s feet to the fire negotiating much-needed nursing home funding to save our struggling care providers. Throughout the past few years, we?ve been hearing from our nursing homes that they can?t keep up with rising costs on their current reimbursement structure which can be delayed by as much as 18 months. This $300 million will help nursing homes across the state keep their doors open and our most vulnerable cared for.
I?m glad we?ve finished this legislative session and can all head back to our districts, if anything so that Democrats aren?t at the capitol to spend more money. My email updates will slow down a bit this summer as I attend more in-district events, but hopefully, that means we can catch up face-to-face. Keep up the good fight and as always please feel free to reach out with any legislative concerns and share your thoughts.
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