Senator Bill Weber (R-Luverne), Republican lead of the Senate Taxes Committee, recently joined Republican leaders to introduce alternate budget targets that serve as a path forward to invest in Minnesotans. The proposal shifts a cash bonding target to a general obligation bond target, which frees up $1.9 billion to invest in other areas. This shift delivers permanent tax relief, a strong bonding bill, and support to Minnesotans struggling to find long-term care.
“Senate Republicans’ alternate budget targets show that there is a path forward to provide a bonding bill and permanent tax relief,” Senator Bill Weber said. “At the same time, our proposal frees up funding to meaningfully invest in our agriculture industry and stem the tide of closing nursing homes. With this kind of a surplus, our state has plenty of money to meet the critical needs of all Minnesotans.”
Throughout this session, Senate Republican Leaders have made it clear that there must be movement on tax relief before a bonding bill is passed. Senate Democrats still moved forward with their bonding bill, which failed on the floor to receive any Republican votes. Democrat budget targets were then released, amounting to massive spending higher than the $17.5 billion surplus and no plan for tax relief.
Senate Republicans offered an alternative proposal that allows for investment in several key priorities:
- A $200 million increase in general obligation bonding, to be used on local roads and bridges
- $398 million for the cash bonding bill
- A $1.146 billion increase to the tax target, to provide a full elimination of the tax on social security and ensure no new taxes
- An additional $500 million to support our Long-Term Care facilities
- An $80 million increase in the agriculture budget, which was short-changed in the single-party control agreement
Watch the full press conference on the Republican alternative budget targets, here.