Friends and neighbors –
If we learned one thing from this session of complete Democrat control of state government, it’s this: Democrats can make big promises, but when it comes to governing they are reckless and irresponsible – like a teenager with their first credit card.
There are some obvious examples of this. The most prominent is what happened to the $19 billion surplus. Instead of keeping their promise to give it back to taxpayers, they spent the entire thing – much of it going to their special interest allies with no accountability – and actually raised taxes by more than $9 billion. The best they could do was $260 in one-time direct rebates.
There are other examples of their carelessness.
Tax bill error will cause $352 million tax increase
It was recently discovered that a mistake in the tax bill reduced the standard deduction back to 2019 levels, creating a $352 million tax hike on Minnesota taxpayers. The mistake would hit 76% of all state income taxpayers – only the 7% of filers who itemize their deductions and who earn less than the standard deduction would avoid the increase.
While there seems to be agreement to correct this mistake right away next session, it is a perfect example of the carelessness with which Democrats operated this session. Democrats worked at a recklessly fast pace this session and negotiated the tax bill behind closed doors until the very last minute. There was no opportunity for Republicans, non-partisan staff, the press, or the public to review and double-check the bill language. Rather than focus on the nuts and bolts of legislating to pass an error-free budget, we saw liberal ideals and special interests prioritized over good governance all session.
And remember: this accidental tax increase is on top of the intentional tax increases they levied this year, including the gas tax, tab fees, sales taxes, and much, much more.
New Southwest Light Rail Audit again confirms mismanagement
One of my roles at the legislature is serving on the Legislative Audit Commission. It’s a role I enjoy because its entire purpose is to select government programs that need auditing and then evaluate the results of reports put together by the meticulous and trusted nonpartisan Legislative Auditor.
Recently we received a report on the Met Council’s oversight of Southwest Light Rail.
It was damning, though not surprising. The report found that the Met Council cooked the books in violation of Federal rules, opening the door to potential fraud. In 70% of cases, the Met Council directed its Independent Cost Estimator (ICE) to systematically increase its project estimates to add more profit and overhead, unused equipment, and extra funding for women- and minority-owned businesses – even when none of those businesses existed or were used. In one example, the final cost was nearly three times the original ICE estimate.
The report also found the Met Council failed to hold contractors accountable, allowed schedule delays to remain unresolved, failed to limit risk for future cost increases, and paid contractors despite being unable to validate that costs were accurate.
It is a clear example of an agency that has gone rogue. The question is why: Was it ineptness? Was it corruption? Was it a combination of both? No matter what the answer, this level of mismanagement (at best) or fraud (at worst) is absolutely inexcusable.
In spite of the Met Council’s horrible track record, Democrats and Gov. Walz lifted the ban on state money going to Southwest Light Rail and failed to enact systematic changes to how the Met Council administers taxpayer dollars. Democrats also signed off on significant new funding for train lines in Minnesota, including $50 million for a Blue Line extension to be managed by the Met Council.
During the hearing, Legislative Auditor Judy Randall said, “I am not convinced the Met Council is the right entity to be the responsible party for [light rail] projects.”
Unfortunately, Democrats don’t seem to care about accountability, past performance, or good governance.
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It is a privilege to serve you.