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Pa




Dear Neighbor,

Budget work began in earnest this week after a bipartisan agreement was reached on the overarching framework of our next two-year plan.

The agreement includes a $4 billion reduction from the current budget, with an additional $1.2 billion scaling down in 2026-27. These moves are necessary, in part, due to decisions made in 2023 when the $18 billion surplus was spent, taxes were raised by $10 billion and the state budget was increased by 40 percent. The state now faces a projected $6 billion shortfall.

Although Minnesota is not in a deficit situation yet, we need to start making adjustments in our spending so that we are not facing a huge, multi-billion-dollar shortfall in two years. This bipartisan agreement marks an important step toward putting our state on a more affordable path – without cutting essential services.

Only one week of regular committee work remains before the House will start spending more time as a full body on the House floor voting on the session’s most important bills. I am paying especially close attention to sections of the budget related to ag, energy and state government. As chair of the committee on ag, I continue working to ensure the Board of Animal Health is fully funded to make sure resources are in place to combat recurring cases of bird flu.

On a quick side note: There have been no further developments reported regarding the single positive test for bird flu that was detected in a Stearns County dairy herd. I remain fully confident we have the people in place to handle this situation, and there is no reason to alter your dairy consumption.

Education is a major area of the budget where differences in opinion need to be resolved. Gov. Tim Walz proposes [ [link removed] ] slashing more than $240 million in 2026-27 and another $445 million in 2028-29. This includes cutting merit-based teacher compensation (Q Comp), special education transportation, and non-public pupil support.

Our school districts already are feeling the pinch from more than 65 unfunded mandates that were put on them in the last two years. A new leave program, sick-time provisions, and unemployment insurance mandates are among changes impacting districts the most.

We need to work on common-sense solutions so schools can focus on helping students in the classroom. House Republicans recently conducted a press conference [ [link removed] ] to outline the priorities we share with most Minnesotans: local control, funding flexibility and mandate relief for our schools.

Look for more from the House soon. We have a May 19 deadline to get our work done and adjourn on time. That’s certainly enough time to pass a new budget, but it will be important to keep partisan provisions out of finance bills so we can focus on the dollars and cents.

Sincerely,

Paul






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State Rep. Paul Anderson
2nd Floor, Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar St., St. Paul, MN 55155
[email protected]
(651) 296-4317







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