On Monday, Feb. 20, Senate Democrats passed a bill, SF 46, that assumes automatic increases in government spending and limits the amount available for a tax cut in the case of a surplus. Senator Torrey Westrom (R-Alexandria) today released the following statement and video:

“By baking inflation into the automatic budget, we take that much more pressure off state agencies, off the executive branch, and off legislative committees to find savings. This puts the government spending train on autopilot. We don’t have a printing press here in the basement of the Capitol. Our source of income is the hardworking taxpayers across our state. We need to respect all those families – all those hardworking taxpayers who put money in the state government coffers.”

Senator Westrom’s floor comments on SF 46 can be downloaded, HERE.

Previously, inflation was included as a footnote in the budget forecast. Under SF 46, the Commissioner of Management and Budget has the discretion to decide which inflation estimate should be used.

And on Monday, Feb. 27, Minnesota’s Department of Management and Budget released its February revenue forecast, which provides information and an outlook for Minnesota’s financial picture. The report shows the surplus holding steady at $17.5 billion, with inflation accounting for $1.4 billion going back into state spending automatically.