Yesterday Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released the November budget forecast outlining the state’s financial picture. The forecast shows new taxes and fee increases lead to a $616 million surplus at the end of 2026 and a projected $5.1 billion deficit by 2029. The forecast numbers do not account for any new spending, meaning that new spending bills passed in the next legislative session will further increase the deficit down the line.

Senator Mark Koran (R-North Branch) released the following statement on the forecast:

“Minnesotans should be very concerned with these numbers. Democrats blew through a historic $18 billion surplus and expanded Minnesota government from a $39 billion general fund budget in 2014 to $71 billion in 2024. These figures reflect only the expenditures appropriated by the legislature, yet the supplemental all funds budget for FY24-25 totaled $125.8 billion – we are spending historically more than we are bringing in.

“On top of it all, we have seen record-levels of waste, fraud, and abuse within state government and $10 billion in new taxes and fees. Minnesotans cannot afford to be on the hook for Democrats’ irresponsible budgeting practices. We must work together to root out waste, control our spending, and create an efficient government that works for the taxpayers, not against them.”