It has been great meeting with numerous constituents in St. Paul this week, including St. Joe Mayor Rick Schultz and Council Member Kevin Kluesner (above), an Albany Telecom group, and Executive Director Abdus Samad from Grafton in Cold Spring (below). I appreciate people from our district taking time to meet with me and for the helpful input they continue providing.
Dear Neighbor,
Here is a look at some notes from the House as we near the end of another busy week at the Capitol:
UI bill approved
The House started the week by approving legislation on Monday extending unemployment benefits for approximately 400 miners laid off in our state last May. This was the right thing to do to help workers who have been put out of work through no fault of their own, and it was good to see strong bipartisan support with a 127-7 vote on passage (the governor followed by signing the bill into law). Going forward, we need to continue working to promote safe, responsible mining in our state so we can provide materials essential to our state and beyond.
Gov’s budget
The governor issued his budget recommendations this week, putting the first stake in the ground in the process of setting a new two-year state budget this session. Overall, his proposal totals $65.2 billion for the next biennium, roughly a $13 billion hike in new, permanent spending which represents a 25% increase.
Despite a $17.6 billion surplus, the governor still proposes numerous tax increases, on everything from motor vehicle tabs to an 1/8 percent sales tax increase in the metro area and a new surcharge on higher earners that would vault our state to the nation’s highest rate.
On the other hand, the governor is not proposing the full repeal of the Social Security tax House Republicans have been championing and even Democrats claimed they supported last fall. The governor’s budget also significantly underfunds public safety at a time violent crime remains abnormally high. This again contradicts what Democrats said last fall and is misaligned with Minnesotans’ priorities.
The bottom line on the governor’s budget proposal is it seems he and fellow Democrats have misinterpreted the surplus. Instead of acknowledging they have taxed Minnesotans too much, they are treating the surplus as a license to radically increase spending at unsustainable levels that expose our taxpayers to big-time consequences if/when the economy sags.
Blackout Bill
House Democrats late last night approved legislation which increases consumer energy prices, reduces power reliability and ultimately compromises safety.
The bill (H.F. 7) extends and increases Minnesota’s renewable energy standard to 55 percent by 2035 and requires electric utilities in the state to generate or acquire 100 percent carbon-free energy by 2040.
A report from the Center of the American Experiment estimates the Walz/Democrat plan to move to 100 percent carbon free electricity by 2040 will cost $313 billion, or nearly $3,900 per family per year.
Reliability is another major concern with the House Democrats proposal. The Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator currently has reported a 1,200-megawatt capacity shortfall, indicating Minnesota already doesn’t have enough reliable power-plant capacity online to meet expected peak electricity demand. MISO warnings of capacity shortfalls for peak periods will become more commonplace if our state continues to rely more on intermittent, weather-dependent energy sources as House Democrats propose.
All blackouts are bad, but winter blackouts in Minnesota could pose great dangers that House Democrats are not taking seriously. Minnesota should focus on diversifying the state’s grid, tapping into new nuclear technology and carbon capture and storage as lower-cost alternatives for reducing carbon emissions.
Republicans offered amendments intended to improve H.F. 7, but House Democrats blocked them all before approving the bill and sending it to the Senate.
Until next time, have a good weekend and please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Lisa