Legislative Update - Rep. Tom Murphy

Legislative Update

As the third deadline approaches for budget bills next week, these proposals will clearly spend through the entire surplus and then some, with no tax relief for Minnesotans. Last biennium’s budget was just over 51 billion dollars while this biennium the proposed budget is nearly $72 billion. This is a 39% increase in government spending in just two years and the largest increase I’ve ever seen in my time at the legislature. This could have been historic tax relief for Minnesotans but instead will be a massive over-spending spree that will likely result in tough budget decisions in the near future.

Walz Mansion

Walz clearly doesn’t mind spending though. While the governor's mansion is undergoing renovations he will be spending $17,000 a month of taxpayer dollars to rent a mansion to live in. Over the next 18 months, this will add up to over $300,000 and that doesn't even include the renovation costs back at the governor's permanent residence.

In Committee

In the Health Fiancne and Policy Committee we are beginning to walk through their Omnibus Health Bill. This legislation includes extreme abortion provisions that will repeal the Born Alive Act and will remove the right-to-know provisions. Our Nursing Homes are also left behind in this legislation with almost no market correction to a formula that hasn’t been updated in nearly 3 years.

To address this issue the House Republicans brought forward an urgency on the house floor to bring forward legislation to address this oversight in the budget framework. This bill would fund our nursing homes and give them the resources to hire the staff they need to provide the best possible care to our elderly and those in need. Unfortunately, our motion was voted down and these providers are left again to hang in the balance hoping for some amount of relief as the legislative session approaches the end.

What priorities do you want to see addressed in the $71.9 Billion budget, or better yet what taxes do you think we could reduce to help your household in this uncertain economy?

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