“Tonight the Governor played his top ten list, and like many hits, the tune has gotten a little stale.  

“While education funding has steadily increased, too few dollars are reaching the classroom. Every kid deserves a teacher and a school that helps them meet reading, math, and science expectations. That’s not happening for too many families. The burden of more than 60 mandates are eating up the funding increases and schools across the state are facing budget cuts.

“Businesses and entrepreneurs are struggling under the weight of increased taxes, burdensome regulations, and a workforce shortage. These job creators and economic drivers need more than grants and handouts, they need real relief to keep going. The next Federated insurance might be in St. Cloud, Moorhead, or Hermantown, but without change, they may never make it to the next level.

“Our law enforcement partners are doing incredible work under extremely difficult circumstances. Increased public safety funding doesn’t make up for the attacks on their profession and outright hostility from Democrat leaders. We proposed real ideas to get tough on crime and prevent the kinds of tragedies we saw in Burnsville, and Democrats didn’t start to take them seriously until it was too late.

“Nursing homes are closing, and rural EMS is on life support, but Democrats’ budget proposal just kicks the can down the road. Religious leaders from many faiths are saying their freedom to express their beliefs is under attack, and Democrats refuse to provide them the protection they have always had. 

“We have serious challenges ahead. While Walz and Democrats keep bringing up the past, we’re looking to the future and the contrast could not be clearer. Without balance restored to state government, we are on a crash course to even more partisanship, challenging deficits, and a bureaucratic state government bloated with inefficiencies, fraud, and wasteful spending.”

Senate Republican Repair Agenda:

Last month, Senate Republicans proposed to repair school budgets by loosening up funding mandates. When brought to the Senate floor for a vote this week, this repair was voted down by Democrats.

Senate Republicans placed urgency on correcting last year’s tax bill for small businesses who experience a net operating loss. Despite promises from Democrat Tax Committee Chairs to fix this mistake, the bill has yet to be brought up for a final vote in the Senate.

Senate Republicans proposed last year to increase penalties on straw purchases, just like the ones that gave guns to the Burnsville shooter. Despite bipartisan support last year, Democrats never moved the bill forward.

Finally, Senate Republicans stated the bonding process must focus on actual infrastructure needs, not politically connected nonprofits. More than a billion was spent on nonprofits last year, some of which have scant records of effectiveness, or even documented issues with management.