Friends and neighbors,

We are now at the halfway point of the 2023 legislative session, and during the second half of session, the Minnesota Legislature will concentrate on crafting our state’s next two-year budget. And this week, the House, Senate and governor released their budget targets, which serve as the framework for committees to formulate their respective budgets.

I have shared in many of my weekly updates that with a massive $17.5 billion surplus, our priority must be giving this money back to Minnesota taxpayers. With inflation continuing to put severe stress on families’ budgets, they need immediate, financial relief. That is why Senate Republicans made our budget priority of tax relief known by rolling out our ‘Give It Back’ tax plan. Our tax plan would provide $13 billion over two years in permanent tax cuts and one-time rebates, including the full elimination of the double tax on Social Security income.

However, the Democrat majority has not taken our priority seriously, and this is further emphasized through their budget targets. Instead of providing meaningful financial relief to Minnesotans, the Democrat priority appears to be to spend every single dollar of the surplus. 

Recently, Democrats released budget targets showing nearly $18 billion in additional spending. This is clearly more than our current surplus and is in addition to the current state budget of $52 billion. And alarmingly, their targets include massive spending that will grow the scope of government and tax increases on all Minnesota workers and businesses.  

Yet something that I notice is absent from the Democrats’ budget framework is the full elimination of the tax on Social Security income. This has been an issue that Senate Republicans and I have been pushing for years, and I know members across the aisle, and even the governor, have advocated for this in their campaigns. With such a massive surplus, there is no time like the present to end this burdensome tax once and for all. 

To reiterate what has been stated before, the present goal of the majority party is to spend, spend and spend all of Minnesota’s state surplus dollars. And then to spend more, they will increase your taxes. Nevertheless, I will continue to fight for meaningful tax relief for our seniors and all Minnesota taxpayers as we head into the second portion of session.

Constituents at the Capitol

This week, I had the opportunity to meet with a couple more groups of constituents at the Capitol. It was a privilege to have visitors from the Associated Builders and Contractors and the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). My office is always open to constituents, and I invite you to schedule a meeting the next time you’re in St. Paul! 

Contact My Office

I want to hear from you, my constituents, on issues that are important to you. Please feel free to reach out to my office with any concerns or ideas you may have. I will continue to keep your thoughts and concerns in mind as legislation comes before me. You can contact my office at sen.bruce.anderson@senate.mn or 651-296-5981.

Sincerely,

Bruce Anderson