Sun Current Editions Bloomington/Richfield | Page 14

Page 14 • Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019
Bloomington • Richfield
current.mnsun.com
Walz budget seeks gas tax, education spending hikes
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)
— Gov. Tim Walz pro-
posed a $49 billion “Bud-
get for One Minnesota”
Feb. 19 that raises the state
gas tax 20 cents to pay
for road and bridge im-
provements and includes
signifi cant increases in
spending on education.
In his fi rst budget pro-
posal, the new Demo-
cratic governor called
for $733 million in new
spending on pre-kinder-
garten through 12th grade
education over the next
two years. That includes
a $523 million boost in
state aid for school dis-
tricts by increasing the
basic per-pupil funding
formula by 5 percent over
two years.
Much of the talk
around the Capitol this
session has been about
bipartisan cooperation.
Walz now faces GOP
opposition, especially in
the Senate where Repub-
licans have a three-vote
majority.
Democrats
who lead the House were
broadly supportive. Walz
said Republicans should
recognize that his bud-
get refl ects the campaign
promises that got him
elected by a wide margin.
“I think they will come
to the table, have a spirited
debate, and we’ll reach a
compromise, and we will
invest in a Minnesota that
works for everyone,” Walz
said at a news conference.
But Republican lead-
ers said they oppose the
governor’s plan. It comes
amid a $1.5 billion budget
surplus, though that’s ex-
pected to shrink a bit in
the next revenue forecast
later this month.
“This fi rst budget is the
kind of budget you get
when you promise every-
one everything,” Senate
Majority Leader Paul

 


 




Gazelka said. House Mi-
nority Leader Kurt Daudt
dubbed it “One Expensive
Minnesota.”
On health care, Walz
proposed cutting premi-
ums on the state health
insurance exchange MN-
sure by 20 percent and
creating a tax credit to
ensure that Minnesotans
who buy health insurance
on the individual market
spend no more than 10
percent of their income
on health care. He would
also create a statewide
public buy-in program
called ONECare Minne-
sota to expand coverage
choices on the individual
market.
For rural Minnesota,
Walz proposed $61 mil-
lion in additional aid
to cities and counties, a
$70 million “moonshot”
to ensure that all house-
holds in rural Minnesota
have high-speed internet
access, and more money
to help rural communi-
ties cope with child care
shortages.
“This budget puts for-
ward the single great-
est investment in greater
Minnesota in the state’s
history,” he said.
Including the gas tax in-
crease, higher vehicle reg-
istration fees and vehicle
sales taxes, and a 1/8 cent
Twin Cities metro sales
tax increase, the budget
would generate $1.9 bil-
lion annually that would
be reserved for roads,
bridges and mass tran-
sit. The money would let
Walz return $460 million
to the general fund that
now goes to transporta-
tion funding so that the
money can be spent on
education instead.
Walz’s budget also pre-
sumes that lawmakers will
prevent the automatic ex-
piration of a 2 percent tax
on health care providers,
which funds programs
that include the Minne-
sotaCare health plan for
the working poor. The
governor said letting it ex-
pire would create a nearly
$1 billion defi cit by 2023.
But the Republican lead-
ers framed that as a tax
increase.
His budget would also
raise taxes as the state
syncs its tax code with the
2017 federal tax overhaul,
by conforming to federal
provisions on business
taxes. He said the money
would enable cutting tax-
es on farmers and small
businesses by over $200
million, expand a tax cred-
it for nearly 47,000 lower-
income working families
by an average of $227 per
month, and make Social
Security benefi ts tax-free
for 56 percent of Minne-
sota seniors and lower for
many others.
Walz plans to release
details next week of a
$1.27 billion public con-
struction borrowing bill.
It would include $300 mil-
lion for higher education
split between the Minne-
sota State and University
of Minnesota systems.
Minnesota is the only
state currently where
Republicans control one
chamber and Democrats
control the other, but the
state had divided govern-
ment to some degree dur-
ing six of previous Gov.
Mark Dayton’s eight
years.
“Every budget in divid-
ed government is diffi cult
because we come from
two very different points
of view, and at the very
end we have to come to-
gether and fi gure it out,”
Gazelka said.
T R A N S F O R M YO U R H O M E A N D
U P G R A D E YO U R S TO R AG E
CALL NOW!
$250 OFF
ORDER *
EXP. 3/31/19.
Schedule your free design consultation
[phone]
Enjoy more space with custom pull-out shelves
for your new or existing cabinets.
Limit one offer per household. Applies to purchases of 5 or more Classic or Designer Glide-Out ™ shelves. Expires 3/31/2019.
Lifetime warranty valid for Classic or Designer Solutions. Learn more at shelfgenie.com
*
®