Last week Governor Walz released his budget recommendations for Fiscal Year 2026-2027. The plan proposes a slight reduction in state spending, in tandem with increasing fees and adding a sales tax to certain services.

Senator Eric Pratt (R-Prior Lake), co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, released the following statement in response:

“Minnesota families should not be held on the hook due to Democrats’ mismanagement of the state budget, yet that is exactly what Governor Walz is proposing. New taxes and fees on Minnesotans are an absolute non-starter.

“Our state is heading towards a historic over-$5 billion deficit, just a few years after having a historic surplus totaling over $18 billion. Democrats mismanaged the budget, and now have the audacity to point to things like long-term care and special education costs as the biggest drivers of this deficit. That is simply not the case. Democrats are not willing to take accountability for the fact that it’s their unchecked spending from 2023-2024 that got us to this point.

“We need to reassess this situation by putting forward a budget that puts Minnesotans first. In a time when families across the state are asking for life to be more affordable, Senate Republicans are not interested in raising fees and taxes to cover the Democrats’ mistakes. We need a better solution than what was offered today.”