ST. PAUL – House Republicans eliminated free health care for illegal immigrants, made the largest spending cut in state history and rejected tax increases on Minnesota families during a special session Monday.
The special session was necessary after the legislature’s May 19 deadline to adjourn passed with less than half of the state’s next two-year budget having been approved. Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, said the House was set back from the start after House Democrats stayed home the first 23 days of this year’s regular session.
After two years of Democrats in full control of the Capitol, Swedzinski said the new budget shows House Republicans restored balance in St. Paul by gaining a share of power in an evenly split body. He said that was especially important after Democrats spent the $18 billion surplus, increased state spending by nearly 40 percent and raised taxes by $10 billion in the last biennium – putting the state on the brink of a $6 billion shortfall.
“House Republicans have focused on bringing balance back to the Capitol, restoring some common sense after two years of one party running roughshod over the people in our state with obscene amounts of spending and extreme policies,” Swedzinski said. “It’s good we put an end to all that and are getting our state back on track.”
This year, Swedzinski indicated proposals to further raise taxes on Minnesota families were defeated. Most notably, he said House Republicans prevented the creation of a fifth-tier income tax bracket ($8 billion), blocked the governor’s sales tax increase ($400 million), and stopped the expansion of sales taxes to professional services ($334 million).
Taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants is another issue Swedzinski said House Republicans worked to address. Enrollment and projected costs have soared since the expansion of MinnesotaCare to include people here illegally took effect just five months ago, causing sustainability concerns. The House on Monday approved a bill making adult illegal immigrants ineligible for the program.
In all, the House approved packages to fund 10 sections of the next state budget during the special session after six passed prior to the regular session adjourning May 19. In total, Swedzinski said House Republicans delivered the largest reduction to government spending in state history with $2 billion in budget cuts and, overall, $5 billion less spending than the previous budget.
An energy budget bill that holds the line on both spending and policy was among those to pass during the special session. Swedzinski said it provides a necessary course correction following two years of what he calls unaffordable and unreliable energy policy under Democrat leadership. He emphasized that the bill includes no new spending for “pet projects and absurd climate goals.”
“This bill does not push further toward the DFL’s unrealistic climate goals and it does not spend any more money on the DFL’s pet energy projects,” Swedzinski said. “While I would have liked to roll back some of the costly measures enacted over the last two years, the fact that we’re stopping the expansion of that extreme agenda is a significant win –especially in a divided House.”
Swedzinski pointed to warnings from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which has flagged a capacity shortfall that could impact Minnesota’s ability to meet peak electricity demand. He cautioned that continued reliance on intermittent, weather-dependent energy sources – like wind and solar – could lead to reliability issues similar to those seen in other states.
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