Hello from the State Capitol,
Remember the days when Governor Ventura demanded lower vehicle tab fees, and Minnesotans paid a flat rate of $189 for a new car and that dropped to a flat fee of $89 after that?
Yeah, those days are long gone.
The flat fees disappeared several years later, and tab fees have been on the rise ever since. In 2023, when Democrats controlled the state legislature along with the governor’s office, they single-handedly changed the vehicle tab fee formula and effectively raised your rates by 20%.
People are now paying more than $1,000 to buy tabs for their vehicles in Minnesota thanks to these Democrat decisions. Over in Prescott and in other Wisconsin communities, its drivers are paying a flat $85 fee per vehicle. Minnesota’s policy is not only costly – it’s senseless.
A bill was heard in the Minnesota House Transportation Finance Committee recently that would bring Minnesota’s vehicle tab fees back to pre-2023 levels. The bill debated by the committee would have dropped the rates on both newer and older vehicles. Doing so would have provided nearly $1 billion in tax relief for drivers, and likely hundreds of dollars in savings to you.
All Republicans on the committee supported the measure. All Democrats voted against it.
This is a common theme in the House this year. Republicans are looking for ways to let you keep more of your money, and Democrats are blocking them all. Democrats are looking for ways to force you to pay more, and Republicans are blocking them all.
Such is life in a House that sits in a 67-67 tie. And you’re paying the price, quite literally.
E-MOTO BILL MOVES AHEAD
My e-moto bill that would ensure that electric motorcycles must follow the same rules as any other motorcycle had a second hearing in the transportation committee this week and was passed with unanimous support. Next stop for the bill is the House Ways and Means Committee.
SNAP BENEFITS BILL HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR REFORM
The House Children and Families Finance Committee heard the “Stop Welfare for the Wealthy” Act recently. The bill tightens Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility by closing a loophole that currently allows individuals with significant financial assets to qualify for benefits.
Considering that Minnesota has lost billions of dollars to fraudsters, it won’t surprise you that Minnesota’s current SNAP setup allows for program abuse and lacks proper oversight.
Minnesota’s SNAP payment error rate has more than doubled, from 4.1% (2013) to 9% (2024), resulting in about $77 million annually in improper payments. New federal policy requires states with error rates above 6% to share in SNAP benefit costs, with Minnesota’s current error rate higher than 6%, these new changes in federal law put Minnesota at significant financial risk. The legislation debated would put Minnesota’s error rate under the 6% threshold.
Minnesota millionaire Rob Undersander also testified about the need to reform the program. He realized his retirement income was low, so he decided to test Minnesota’s system. He later said he collected thousands of dollars in SNAP benefits over more than a year, which he donated to charity, to draw attention to the issue. Learn more about his story here.
Let’s be clear. This is not an attack on SNAP. Residents who truly need assistance paying for food should have a program available to them. No one should be forced to starve. But this state has proven time and again that it has little to no safeguards on its social programs, which leaves them wide open for abuse by bad actors who seek to scam the system. Every dollar that’s stolen by a fraudster is one less dollar that’s able to be accessed by a family who truly needs it. That is something people of all political stripes should be able to rally behind.
Instead, every House Republican on the committee voted to protect the program’s integrity and make sure that resources go to those who need them most, and every House Democrat voted against doing that.
MONITORING HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAMS
I’m carrying legislation in the Minnesota House that draws attention to human services programs that are operating over budget. Under the plan, if a program is 5% over budget, it’s required to report why. At 10% over budget, officials within the program need to expedite a report. At more than 10%, the program is terminated until revisions and changes are made.
Taxpayers expect their money to be used wisely in state government, and this bill would ensure some accountability within the human services department where fraud has run rampant for years.
LOCAL VISITS
This week I was able to visit with an area teacher who is dealing with rising health insurance costs.
I also had a nice talk with a local YMCA representative, who is concerned that a large percentage of Minnesotans do not know how to swim.
Have a good weekend,
Tom