Budget Surplus, Vaccine Plan & Free The Growler

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February 26, 2021

State Surplus of $1.6B

Today, Minnesota Management and Budget will release their February forecast, which shows a $1.6 billion dollar surplus for the state of Minnesota. 

Our last forecast revealed a deficit but the better-than-estimated tax receipts during the last few months—from the hardworking Minnesota taxpayers— shows the Minnesota economy is bouncing back. We need to make sure tax hike proposals from the governor and Democrats in the House don't get in the way. 

Unfortunately, the House Majority and the Governor have been pushing for unnecessary tax hikes that would hurt struggling businesses and families. Let's hope today's news stops any tax hikes in their tracks. 

Because Republicans hold the Senate, we know the Governor's tax hikes will not become law. Rather than hold out for these unnecessary tax hikes, we should get to work today crafting a real, compromise two year budget. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and work together to pass a responsible budget without raising taxes.

Businesses and family budgets are still hurting all across our state, and now is not the time to raise taxes. We are very close to putting COVID-19 behind us for good and getting Minnesota fully open — we need to get back to living and working again. 

#FreeTheGrowler

We took our Free the Growler campaign to Indeed Brewing Company, which is currently under the Growler cap but quickly approaching it. Here they discuss the importance of growlers to test new beers to eventually find the ones customers like and ship them across the state. They even mention how Wisconsin has better laws than Minnesota and how it hurts breweries in Minnesota. They even mention how Wisconsin has better laws than Minnesota and how it hurts breweries in Minnesota. The ability to sell growlers helped Indeed keep people employed during the pandemic and brought the Pistachio Cream Ale to stores across Minnesota. We also took our Free the Growler tour to Surly Brewing Company, one of the most successful breweries that helped kick off the craft beer explosion in our state. They no longer are able to sell growlers and it has hurt their ability to come up with their next big, successful beer. Minnesota entrepreneurs shouldn't have to choose between setting up a brewery in our state or crossing the border to Wisconsin or the Dakotas or Iowa. Minnesota breweries shouldn't have to make a decision between continuing to grow or stay below an arbitrary threshold. We need to #FreeTheGrowler and lift the barrel cap on these successful breweries. I also joined WCCO Radio to discuss our efforts with two proposals. Tell your legislator to support:  HF1050 will remove the Growler Cap and help our local breweries.   HF1192, which will also remove the Growler Cap, and also fix and update a number of other liquor laws helping hundreds of small businesses that support thousands of Minnesota jobs.

Updated Vaccine Plan

Over 783,000 Minnesotans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 Vaccine but hundreds of thousands of seniors, teachers and others in the current priority pool are still waiting.

On Thursday, the path forward was clarified on how vaccinate the remaining Minnesotans who want to take the vaccine. Minnesota will not move on to the next category of eligible recipients until 70% of seniors 65+ get a vaccine.

At current levels of supply, we are expected to hit that mark before the end of March before moving on to other priority groups; vaccine is expected to be available to the general public this summer. This timeline does not take into account increased manufacturing efficiency of current vaccines to increase supply and also does not take into account the Johnson and Johnson vaccine that is expected to become available soon. 

For weeks Republicans and many health experts have have been pushing Gov. Walz for a focused approach on seniors for vaccination. The new announcement and plan is a step in the right direction, as it is finally committing to prioritizing those who are most vulnerable to COVDI-19. Vaccinating our seniors will lead to a dramatic drop in deaths and serious cases of illness. 

Vaccinating these vulnerable groups should allow us to continue safely reopening our economy in the coming weeks as cases and deaths continue to drop.

Unfortunately, the Walz Administration had been sending mixed messages and has needlessly complicated the rollout with complex and invasive signup forms that could prove to be barriers for older Minnesotans.

Earlier this week, AARP Minnesota sent a letter criticizing the Walz administrations handling of vaccine distribution, saying it left many Minnesota seniors feeling "frustrated and confused." 

COVID-19 & Vaccine Information Links

With the constant state of new information on COVID-19 and the vaccine process, it is best to check the following links regularly for updates:

• Vaccine Connector 
• Minnesota COVID-19 Dashboard 
• Carver County COVID-19 Dashboard
• Minnesota Department of Health: Find my Vaccine
• Carver County Vaccine Information 
• Veterans Affairs Health Care System 

If you have a link to local information that would be helpful to add to this list, please send my way. I will keep this section as a fixture on future updates. 

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