Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday.
After adding inflation to the spending side of the equation, Minnesota’s projected budget surplus didn’t change much. It’s now at $17.5 billion, state finance officials said, because revenue continues to come in ahead of expectations. MPR’s Dana Ferguson and Brian Bakst had the story: “This is great news for Minnesota and a sign that our economy is strong and growing,” Gov. Tim Walz said in a release. “Minnesota continues to have a record-low unemployment rate, one of the most diverse economies in the nation, and is on a path to be the best state in the country to raise a family.” Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter said the state’s economy withstood the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and outpaced the U.S. economy overall. “The key takeaway for today's budget forecast is that the economy is stable and the budget outlook is very good,” Schowalter said.
More: “Our projected budget surplus means that our state is in a strong position to take decisive action to solve big challenges. House DFLers remain focused on the issues Minnesotans across the state value and care about: investing in public education, making health care more affordable, and building an economy that works better for everyone,” said House Speaker Melissa Hortman. Republicans said much of the money should go to cut taxes. “The difference in the forecast from January to February was pretty much nothing. While inflation hasn’t hurt government tax revenue, it has significantly hurt Minnesotan’s buying power,” said House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring. “It’s time to get serious about giving the surplus back to the taxpayers so they can afford their lives in the face of historic inflation driving up the cost of basic necessities.” GOP lawmakers are expected to release more details of their plans to cut taxes later today.
One element of that Republican plan is likely to be the full elimination of state taxes on Social Security income. Walz is not on board with that. He noted Monday that he agreed to a full exemption last year when Republicans controlled the state Senate, but he said they chose not to pass it when it was on the table. "Every single one of them walked away last May because they wanted a political message rather than that,” Walz said. “So again, no crocodile tears from this. It certainly was a deal that we made. That deal had a shelf life. They chose to roll the dice, and they lost." Walz says full repeal of the tax would benefit some of the state's top earners, and that there are better ways to help seniors who need a break. Republicans and some Democrats ran on a pitch to eliminate the tax on Social Security income during the 2022 campaign, but DFL legislative leaders have also said it goes too far.
The Biden administration on Monday announced a wide crackdown on the labor exploitation of migrant children around the United States, including more aggressive investigations of companies benefiting from their work, the New York Times reports. The White House laid out a host of new initiatives to investigate child labor violations among employers and improve the basic support that migrant children receive when they are released to sponsors in the United States. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, called the revelations in The Times “heartbreaking” and “completely unacceptable.” As part of the new effort, the Department of Labor, which enforces these laws, said it would target not just the factories and suppliers that illegally employ children, but also the larger companies that have child labor in their supply chains. Migrant children often use false identification and find jobs through staffing agencies that do not verify their Social Security numbers.
The state appeals court sided with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and its contention that the gambling control board was wrong to allow electronic pulltabs with an “open all” feature because they’re too much like slot machines, which are illegal outside tribal casinos in Minnesota. The Star Tribune reports: Monday's ruling reversed an administrative law judge's decision that found the open-all provision was legal. The decision could renew a legislative push to clarify the law, explicitly banning the open-all feature. DFL control of state government makes the prospect of such a ban more likely than in recent years under divided control. The Shakopee tribe, which had long contended the rule was illegal, welcomed Monday's ruling and called for legislative action. "We call on the Gambling Control Board and the Minnesota Legislature to take this opportunity to resolve this problem and others related to the regulation of electronic pull-tabs for good," the statement said.
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