Legislative Update: Gov. Walz Proposes Tax & Spend Budget

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February 5, 2021

Friends and Neighbors, 

I wanted to start this update off with some good news from our community. The Waconia Lions were featured for their good deeds this past year bringing a fish fry to seniors who could otherwise not get out to fish due to the pandemic. See the nice photo and write up below. 

Gov. Walz Budget Announcement 

Last week, Gov. Tim Walz released his budget proposal for the next biennium. Gov. Walz is proposing a 10% income tax increase, a 15% hike to Minnesota's business tax, and regressive tax hikes on cigarettes and vaping products that disproportionately hit low-income Minnesotans. The Governor is proposing just .3% in cuts ($150 million) out of a $52+ billion budget.  The budget put proposal put forward by Governor Walz was not a serious attempt at coming to the bipartisan agreement that will be necessary to pass a budget with divided government. Putting Minnesota in the top three for income and business taxes while not asking government to share in the belt-tightening every Minnesota family and business has done over the past year is unacceptable. This proposal flies in the face of common sense. Families and businesses across Minnesota are hurting. There is finally a light at the end of the COVID-19 & Walz mandated shutdowns, unfortunately the governor wants to raise taxes on Minnesotans at a time they can least afford it. I look forward to working on creating a realistic, bipartisan budget this session without these massive tax hikes. Lawmakers and the Governor must pass a new two-year budget by June 30 to avoid a state government shutdown.

Restrictions on Wedding Venues 

Currently, indoor wedding venues are limited to 10 people or 2 households if food is served, while restaurants and bars can operate at up to 50 percent capacity, and indoor events and entertainment are open at 25% capacity up to 150 attendees.

Restricting wedding venues to 10 or 15 people while allowing restaurants and other businesses to be open at a much higher capacity is a double standard clearly not based in science.

Last week, House Republicans attempted to end the severe and nonsensical restrictions on wedding venues. It is time to trust Minnesota wedding venues to safely operate so the many industries that rely on them can have some certainty.

Unfortunately, Democrats voted down the amendment using a procedural motion.

SAFE Account Proposal

This week the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee, heard a bill to create a fund called the State Aid for Emergencies (SAFE) Account. Part of this is being done in anticipation of possible unrest during the upcoming Chauvin trial in Minneapolis. As a strong supporter of law enforcement, want to make sure law enforcement agencies have the resources they need to respond to emergencies and potential riots.

Unfortunately, this bill does not address the problem. A coalition of law enforcement associations wrote to the committee:

"Our members remain concerned, however, that no matter what legislation is passed, the response for mutual aid will not be as robust as the public may expect. Our members’ concern is due to the continued demonization of law enforcement officers by certain public officials at various levels of government."

The Minneapolis Police Department remains down 200 officers from the level they were in 2019 following attempts by the City Council to defund the police.

I also have concerns about the proposed language, including the fact that it gives unilateral authority over the account to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) Commissioner to decide how reimbursements are given, and a vast expansion of which costs are eligible for reimbursement.

I am sure we will see this bill come up again, and when we do I intend to push for changes to put it in a form that would address the entire problem.

#FreeTheGrowler

We took our Free the Growler campaign up north to Castle Danger Brewery. They are one of 5 breweries with taprooms in the entire county, all 5 are in Minnesota, who cannot sell growlers to their customers. All because of outdated laws that are in major need of reform.

The inability to sell growlers stifles innovation and unfairly hurts small businesses across our state — at a time they need all the help they can get.

Due to this law, Castle Danger was put in the same position as Lift Bridge Brewing Company — having to dump beer rather than be able to sell it in growlers.

Earlier, we toured Schell’s Brewery in beautiful New Ulm to highlight the importance of changing our liquor laws. Schell’s is one of five breweries with a taproom that cannot sell growlers in Minnesota – and the only 5 taprooms of the 8,000 across the country that cannot sell growlers to their customers.  And we saw the effect of this law at Lift Bridge Brewing in Stillwater was forced to dump beer down the drain.  We need to fix this and I will continue to fight but I need your help. Share our videos, use the hashtag #FreeTheGrowler in support, and, most importantly, contact your legislators and urge them to join the fight to #FreeTheGrowler.

Please Contact Me

Please feel free to reach out to my office if there is any way I can be of assistance. My phone number is 651-296-4282, I am here to serve you!

Have a great weekend!

Jim

349 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.4282