Senator Relph responds to Governor Walz’s budget proposal

On Tuesday, Governor Tim Walz released his proposal for the upcoming two-year state budget. The governor’s $49.4 million budget proposal would be the largest budget in state history and represents an 8.1 percent increase over the previous state budget. In response, Senator Jerry Relph (R-St. Cloud) issued the following statement:

“Governor Walz missed the mark in his budget proposal. Instead of making responsible, long-term investments in the areas of transportation, health care, and education, the governor’s proposal dramatically grows the size of government and levies unfair tax increases on Minnesotans in income, sales, property, and provider taxes. The governor’s budget proposal spends at an unsustainable rate, but does nothing to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse. Instead, the governor is proposing pumping more money into education with no reforms to close the achievement gap, more money into childcare assistance with no reforms to stop fraud, and a total government takeover of health care without even attempting to lower health care costs. Over the next several weeks, the legislature will put together a responsible budget proposal that addresses the needs of Minnesotans without raising taxes.”

Facts about Governor Walz’s budget proposal

  • Increases state spending by 9% in one budget cycle, from $45,549 in 2018-19 (November 2018 forecast, page 12) to 49,471 in 2020-21 (Walz budget documents)
  • Increases taxes on every Minnesotan by over $3 billion:
    • $1.3 billion gas tax increase
    • $991 million sick tax increase
    • $848 million in FY2020-21 through selective Minnesota tax conformity to the federal law
    • $74 million tax increase by clawing back bipartisan tax relief from 2017
  • Ends permanent, bipartisan funding for roads and bridges (via sales taxes on auto parts) and replaces it by almost doubling the gas tax, a revenue source that declines each year starting in 2020. (MNDOT Transportation Funds Forecast November 2018, page 9)

Budget documents

Governor Walz’s budget recommendations

Senate Republicans respond to Governor Walz’s proposal

Senator Jerry Relph, of St. Cloud, represents District 14, including Benton, Sherburne, and Stearns counties, in the Minnesota Senate.