Minnesota Report
On Tuesday, Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-34B, Brooklyn Park) and filling in for the recovering Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic (DFL-60, Minneapolis) Senate President Bobby Jo Champion (DFL-59, Minneapolis) all signed the 2023-24 Budget Targets. The $17.869.2 agreement fully consumes the $17.5 billion surplus and we are awaiting where the remaining money will come from.
K-12 Education is to receive $2.214 billion, Human Services $1.3 billion, Housing $1 billion, Transportation $1.075 billion, and Higher Education $650 million.
All members of the DFL Trifecta stated their spine stiffed resolve to oppose Republican efforts to disrupt their agenda, especially with a full realization of the tight 34-33 Senate Majority. Hortman provided measured support for “nice sized” rebate checks and the discussion of the extant tax on Social Security tax cuts is not yet fully realized. The debate over across-the-board or only to middle-lower income still ensues. The leaning toward a Cash Bonding Bill, passed with only a Simple Majority seems ever closer.
One possible saving is the passage of a Bonding Bill and the lessening of the amount of money spend on cash projects coming from the General Fund. This would be a complete win for the Trifecta and would allow their entire budget to be implemented.
