Dear Neighbor,
The Legislature didn’t finish its work on time this session, with only seven of the 19 bills that make up the state’s next two-year budget receiving final approval. House Democrats put us behind the eight ball from the start by refusing to come to the Capitol for the first 23 days of the session, staying home while still collecting a paycheck.
As a result, a special session will now be necessary to complete our work. But here’s the good news: there’s still time to pass legislation that would enable the largest private investment our state has ever seen – and it’s not even close. We’re talking about a PRIVATE investment of more than $100 billion in Minnesota, including $27 billion in Becker alone. This would bring roughly 40,000 high-paying mostly union construction jobs, an estimated 10,000 permanent high-paying jobs, and a massive windfall of tax revenue for both the state and local governments.
For this to happen, we must pass regulatory reforms and update tax policies to help capitalize on the explosive growth occurring in the data industry. The stakes are enormous. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to welcome a transformative economic boom. We cannot afford to let this slip through our fingers. These data centers will be built. The only question is whether it happens here in Minnesota, where over 20 sites are already in various stages of planning, or across the border in Iowa or Wisconsin.
Just think what this could mean for our local region. Sherco closures due to carbon-free mandates are already causing significant revenue losses for Sherburne County, the city of Becker and the Becker school district. Data center expansion could not only backfill those losses, but boost revenue exponentially.
I understand that Minnesota has a reputation for moving slowly on big issues, but that cannot be the case here. If we delay, the window of opportunity will close. We can’t afford to kick this down the road to next year – or the year after – hoping we’ll eventually get around to it. This opportunity is too important to waste time standing still, waiting for someone else to act.
A special session is expected soon to finish this year’s budget work, and I will be pushing hard to make sure data centers become a reality for us. It’s time to remove the blinders and seize this opportunity for what it is, rather than snatching defeat from the jaws of victory while our neighbors in Wisconsin and Iowa reap the rewards.
In the meantime, I’d also like to highlight a pensions bill the House passed on Monday. It offers meaningful help to teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement officers.
As for teachers, while this bill doesn’t fully restore the Rule of 90, it is a step in the right direction by reducing the penalty for those who retire earlier than current standards allow. It is good we made any progress at all this session as the state faces a $6 billion budget shortfall, but more work remains on this subject.
That said, House Republicans proposed measures that would have gone even further. One such bill would have required high-income families to pay for their own school lunches, using that money instead to shore up teacher pensions. Unfortunately, Education Minnesota, the Department of Education, and House Democrats all said “no.” It’s appalling they put giving free lunches to wealthy families ahead of supporting our teachers.
Watch for more updates from the House soon. For now, we need to keep the conversation going about what’s at stake with data centers, so we’re ready to achieve a major victory when a special session is called. I’ll certainly keep doing my part.
Sincerely,
Shane