Friends and neighbors,
Most committees began discussing and debating their budget bills this week. There are a couple of common themes: excessive government intervention and tax increases. Yes, even with a budget surplus of $19 billion, Democrats are proposing to raise taxes.
The transportation budget is a great example of this. Their budget proposal contains more than $2.35 billion in tax and fee increases. You can see it for yourself in this spreadsheet, line 520, the furthest column on the right.
Under their proposal, you will pay more when you purchase your license tabs. You will pay more when you purchase a new vehicle. They even added a controversial surcharge to all deliveries and rideshare companies, so your Amazon, Walmart, and DoorDash orders, and your Uber and Lyft rides, will all cost more.
These tax increases are not needed. We have a big enough surplus to fund our priorities (including tax relief!), without needing to ask for more.
My Senate Republican colleagues prioritized this for years, investing billions into roads and bridges without raising taxes or fees. It can be done, with discipline. Last week I even wrote about some of our specific ideas to accomplish this goal. It is disappointing that Democrats chose to raise taxes instead of taking a more fiscally responsible approach.
Labor budget bill aggressively inserts state into employer/employee relationships
I serve on the committee that handles labor issues, so one of my focuses recently has been the Senate’s labor budget proposal. Many of the most controversial labor-related proposals are traveling independently and not included in their budget bill. You can read a summary of their bill here.
In short, their bill inserts the state into employer-employee relationships unnecessarily, and often in a manner that will cause job losses and harm workers and mom-and-pop businesses that dot every Main Street in cities and towns throughout the state. The people we want to help – workers – are the ones who will be harmed by their bill.
We heard quite a bit of feedback on some of the most concerning parts of the bill: the new, burdensome regulations to workplaces, the new workforce restrictions, the growth in bureaucracy, the new costs, and the potential litigation risks to Minnesota companies and industries.
There may be a few bad apples, but virtually all Minnesota companies are committed to taking care of their employees. Not only that but they are already tightly regulated by state and federal rules. These additional mandates – along with other requirements like a one-size-fits-all paid leave tax – are going to crush our small businesses, and in turn, cause real job losses.
We will continue to work on this bill as it moves through the process. I am hopeful that Democrats will be receptive to the concerns of Minnesota’s small business owners.
Contact me
Your feedback, ideas, and concerns are what allow me to serve you to the best of my ability. Please share your thoughts with me any time at sen.bill.lieske@senate.mn or 651-296-5019.
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It is a privilege to serve you!