Friends and neighbors –
It has been a frenzied pace to begin the new legislative session and it makes me worried for our state. The new Democrat majorities in the House and Senate seem so keen on satisfying the promises they made to their base on the campaign trail that they are fast-tracking bills through the Senate without giving them the proper consideration, debate, and discussion.
I generally don’t care much for process complaints. But in this case, it is important. These are massive, complicated, and controversial bills. It is just not right to rush them into law. In my experience, often when you move too fast you make mistakes. And in this case, the mistakes could prove to be disastrous for Minnesota families.
There has been some good news, however. Less than ten days into session, we unanimously passed a $100 million tax relief bill, called tax conformity, that will help working Minnesotans – especially folks who were hit hard by Covid-19 shutdowns. We were able to get this done so quickly because Senate Republicans did almost all the legwork on it last session. We passed it last year – along with bills to fully eliminate the tax on Social Security benefits and a real, significant income tax rate cut. So the only reason it was not done already was that House Democrat leaders refused to bring it up for a vote.
The tax relief bill was a great early session victory for Minnesotans, many of whom are still feeling the pressure of soaring inflation and higher prices on gas, groceries, and energy. But we still have to do a lot more. With a massive budget surplus and one of the highest tax burdens in the country, we have to take every step we can to reduce taxes for Minnesota families and ease the stress on their bank accounts.
Republicans tried to accomplish exactly this during the debate on the tax conformity bill. We offered a number of improvements to give back more of the state’s surplus to taxpayers, including the Social Security tax elimination and a real first-tier tax rate cut. Democrats rejected all of them.
Why?
Good question. On the campaign trail, they said they supported these sorts of ideas and wanted to give the surplus back. But now that they run the show, they are doing the exact opposite.
They have introduced a number of enormous spending priorities, so much so that it is increasingly likely even though we have a $17 billion surplus it will not be enough. By the time this column is published, the governor will have unveiled what we expect to be a record budget proposal. And it is a virtual guarantee Democrats will add another $1 billion in new tax burdens on small businesses and workers in the incoming weeks.
They said they would help us give back the surplus. So far, their walk does not match their loud, bold talk from the campaign trail.
Contact me
If you have any questions about any of these issues or any other issue the legislature is working on, please don’t hesitate to contact me any time. My email is Sen.Rich.Draheim@Senate.mn, and my phone number is 651-296-5558.
It is a privilege to serve you.