Senate Republicans on track to pass complete, comprehensive state budget
Legislators returned to work in St. Paul this week after a brief break to observe Easter and Passover, and we definitely hit the ground running. The pace was fast and furious, with several late nights spent approving budget bills. In fact, I am writing this column from the floor of the Senate where we are currently discussing the State Government and Veterans budget bill.
Before I recap budget bills I wanted to draw your attention to an important report from the Minnesota Department of Revenue, which recently issued an amazing rebuke of Gov. Walz’s tax proposals to raise taxes. They released an analysis showing the governor’s tax increases will have the largest negative impact on low income and middle-income Minnesotans, including the gas tax, tab fees, the sick tax, and more. Interestingly, the analysis did not account for paid family leave taxes, so the burden would likely be even greater than the results suggest.
So far we have finished five budget bills since returning from recess, each dealing with a different area of government. Next week we anticipate finishing the next five. Here is a quick rundown of what we have finished so far:
- Agriculture: our agriculture budget prioritizes Minnesota farm families with funding for mental health support, affordable workforce housing, and expanded high speed internet access.
- Environment: our environment budget has funding to protect our natural resources from threats like Aquatic Invasive Species and Chronic Wasting Disease. For our area, it also includes my bill to fund the cleanup of Roberds Lake after last fall’s destructive tornadoes.
- Higher Education: students were at the core of every decision we made in our higher education budget. We boosted funding for the State Grant program, capped tuition, addressed the cost of textbooks, and increased accountability for schools. We also ramped up the workforce scholarship program to prepare students to enter the workforce.
- Judiciary: the Senate Republican Judiciary budget puts public safety first. We strengthened penalties for sex offenders and child pornographers, provided funding for corrections officers and security upgrades at prisons, including Faribault Correctional Facility, and added funding to protect faith-based nonprofits who are at risk of being targeted by violent extremists.
- State Government and Veterans: Minnesotans deserve confidence their government is functioning smoothly, but there have been a lot of issues lately. We added more government accountability, committed funding for cybersecurity improvements, and invested in election integrity improvements. We also added funding for supportive services for veterans who are transitioning home from service, like mental health resources, career and housing opportunities, and other services.
If you have any questions about these bills or are interested in more detail, feel free to visit my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SenatorJohnJasinski. You can also give me a call any time at 651-296-0284 or email me at sen.john.jasinski@senate.mn. Talk to you again soon!