Legislative Update
This week, we had several controversial bills up on the House floor and in various committees. On Monday, the Democrats brought up a bill to fund a $35 million State Aid for Emergencies (SAFE) Account in anticipation of possible unrest during the upcoming trial in Minneapolis. While law enforcement groups had supported the bill in its original form, Democrats amended it in a way that made those groups withdraw their support. Because the House DFL could not find enough support within their caucus to pass it, the SAFE Account bill was laid on the table and we adjourned without a vote.
They took up the bill again during Thursday's floor session, but since the bill had not gotten any better, it failed on a bipartisan vote of 63 ayes to 71 nays.
On Tuesday, Democrats presented a bill in the Capital Investment Committee that would give the city of Minneapolis $150 million to rebuild businesses and private property damaged in last summer's riots. The bill passed, with the vote divided along party lines.
In Wednesday's Commerce Committee hearing, we heard a bill to legalize marijuana in Minnesota, even though it would still be illegal at the federal level. The bill was passed along party lines, and has quite a few committee stops ahead of it. Its Senate companion has so far not received a hearing.
Finally, the governor's tax bill was heard in the Tax Committee on Thursday. In the tax portion of Governor Walz's proposed budget, he has asked for a 15% increase to Minnesota’s business tax rate, which would give our state the second highest business tax rate in the entire nation. The proposed tax bill would also give Minnesota to the third highest income tax rate, and in spite of the governor’s claim that he only wants to tax the wealthy, he raises regressive taxes on cigarettes and vaping products, which studies show impact low-income Minnesotans the most.
As all of these bills continue to move through the legislative process, I look forward to hearing from constituents on these issues and advocating for the values and priorities of our community.
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