Labor and Jobs budget bill raises prices for consumers, spends billions with little accountability

The Minnesota Senate early on Saturday morning approved a partisan Labor and Jobs budget bill. The bill spends $1.2 billion on a series of jobs-oriented nonprofits with little accountability or transparency; and increases red tape for businesses, gives authority to non-government entities, and will lead to higher costs for consumers and taxpayers across the board. 

LABOR BUDGET INCREASES COSTS FOR CONSUMERS  

“Our Labor budget bill should heavily invest in efforts that improve the quality of jobs for Minnesotans,” Senator Gene Dornink (R-Brownsdale), the lead Republican of the Senate Labor Committee said. “This year’s legislation, however, does the exact opposite. From increasing red tape to giving authority to non-government entities, this bill will only lead to higher costs for consumers and taxpayers across the board. My focus has always been to provide safe and productive workplaces for Minnesotan workers. With a robust set of laws for employee protection and safety in place, there is no need for the Democrats’ additional heavy fines, many mandates, or unworkable regulations. These changes will simply cost taxpayers more money and make it even more difficult for employers to provide good jobs for Minnesotans.”  

Republicans offered key amendments during the floor debate. Democrats, however, failed to accept most proposed changes. Among them:   

  • An amendment to eliminate a provision that would lead to higher costs for consumers through significantly increased construction costs. Requiring new construction to include electric vehicle charging equipment is expensive and only benefits those who can afford electric vehicles.  
  • An amendment to ensure workforce standards focus on the super factories and lets Minnesota’s current workforce standards exist for the smaller factories, such as small meat processing plants that have not had the same sort of problems.   
  • An amendment to protect public employees who report when taxpayer dollars are being abused. This is in response to serious problems Minnesota has had with waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.   
  • An amendment to give Minnesota nursing homes more options by recognizing 16 and 17-year-olds can safely operate equipment meant to assist disabled individuals. This will make a big difference in ensuring there are enough care workers available to assist the most vulnerable among us.    
  • An amendment to give more 16 and 17-year-olds access to highly paid, in-demand construction jobs. This will assist with workforce shortages and make more Minnesota youth aware of quality jobs for their future.  

These amendments were rejected by Democrats on party-line votes.  

JOBS BUDGET SPENDS $1.2 BILLION WITH LITTLE ACCOUNTABILITY  

The jobs portion of the bill provides $1.2 billion for a variety of nonprofits and economic development programs.  

“At some point, we will need more resources in this area, but not right now,” Senator Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake), the lead Republican on the Jobs Committee said. “Employers are not only desperate for workers, but they’re also willing to pay to train them. Spending $1.2 billion on these programs is simply not needed.”  

“And the lack of transparency and accountability in this bill is very troubling,” Draheim added. “We are giving folks $1.2 billion, but not asking recipients to tell us what they are spending the money on and how many jobs they have created. This is one of the fundamentals of good governance. According to the Legislative Auditor, there is significant and pervasive fraud in other state grant programs. We need more accountability and transparency protections to show people we are serious about combatting fraud and mismanagement.”  

Senate Republicans offered several amendments to improve the bill. Among them:  

  • An amendment to increase accountability for non-profit grant recipients, similar to language that has been added to other budget bills.   
  • An amendment to change all direct appropriations to performance grants, so we can guarantee that organizations receiving funding are delivering on their promises.  
  • An amendment to provide $5 million for grants to local communities to increase the number of childcare providers, instead of a handout to a for-profit EV parts manufacturer.  
  • An amendment to provide $10 million for Pathways to Policing, a program aimed at recruiting and training more police officers.  
  • An amendment to provide $10 million for broader economic development to keep businesses in Minnesota.  

These amendments were rejected by Democrats on party-line votes.