ST. PAUL – Following a one-day special session where state lawmakers finalized Minnesota’s upcoming budget, State Representative Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) said some balance was finally restored at the State Capitol with Republicans having equal control in the Minnesota House.
“Two years ago, an all Democrat-led legislature and Governor Walz wasted an $18 billion budget surplus, raised taxes by $10 billion and grew government spending by 40 percent,” Torkelson said. “These decisions created a projected $6 billion future deficit. There’s no doubt if Republicans had been in the House minority this session, Minnesota’s families once again would have been hit with billions of dollars in tax increases.”
Torkelson said lawmakers approved 14 separate bills during the special session. These included budget proposals that will fund specific areas within state government over the next two years, such as K-12 Education, transportation and health.
The budget agreement provides the largest cut to government spending - $5 billion - in state history. It also eliminates nearly half of the projected budget deficit Democrats created two years ago.
Torkelson said no Minnesota family will see a tax increase, as House Republicans stopped more than $8 billion in tax increase proposals from becoming law. In addition, the taxes bill prevented any cuts to the Local Government Aid (LGA), County Program Aid (CPA), and Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) programs. With any reductions to these programs, property taxpayers almost assuredly would have seen tax increases to make up the difference.
Torkelson said legislators also approved language that ends the tremendously expensive free health care for illegal immigrants’ program for adults. He noted that the number of illegal immigrants taking advantage of the government freebie has skyrocketed, with projected costs to MN taxpayers exceeding $550 million.
Of local interest, Torkelson was able to assist local counties who are struggling with outdated human services software. He had been told county staff spent more than 80% of their time struggling to get the software to work and only 20% of their time dealing with people. Legislation was passed during special session will allow agencies to modernize to a reliable, workable system.
Overall, Torkelson said the session provided unique challenges with 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats in the Minnesota House.
“If Republicans had full control of the House, our budget would have looked much different,” Torkelson said. “At the same time, we played the hand we were dealt, tried to prioritize the taxpayers, and focused on important issues for Minnesotans in the areas of veterans care, law enforcement and transportation.”