Governor Tim Walz released his proposal for the upcoming two-year state budget on Tuesday. The Governor’s $52 billion budget proposal, including budgeted reserves, would be the largest budget in state history and represents an 8.1% increase over the previous state budget. In response, Senator Dan Hall (R-Burnsville) issued the following statement:

“With this announcement, Governor Walz has outlined his vision for ‘One Minnesota’ to include priorities like increasing government spending by nearly double digits and bringing new taxes to Minnesotans across all income brackets. It is fortunate that this is only the first step in the budget process and not our final product. While Governor Walz continues to advocate for a more centralized approach, Senate legislators will work on our own budget proposal that reigns in government spending, targets fraud and abuse, and solves problems that allow the average Minnesotan family to be prosperous again.”

Governor Walz’s proposal would raise Minnesota’s gas tax by twenty cents, representing a massive 70 percent increase and vaulting Minnesota’s gas tax to 4th highest in the nation. It also includes increases to tab fees, the motor vehicle sales tax, the Metro Area sales tax, business taxes, and reinstatement of the sick tax, which is set to expire at the end of the year and would add $1 billion to the cost of healthcare for Minnesotans over the next two years.

You can watch the full Republican response to the Governor’s budget here.