Minnesota House Democrats this morning (9am) unveil details of key parts of their state budget proposal — a tax bill and an E-12 education funding bill. A couple weeks ago, Dilworth Representative Paul Marquart indicated one part of the package would be plugging corporate tax loopholes. “I don’t think it’s fair that a senior citizen or a working family should pay more in taxes because we’re letting some company get by with using… gimmicks to shelter their profits in Bermuda,” Marquart said. House Democrats also said earlier they want a bigger increase for public schools than Governor Tim Walz proposed in his budget.
Budget bills must be wrapped up in committee by week’s end, before the Passover/Easter break. House Speaker Melissa Hortman says this week will be “a lot of long hours in committee, getting the state’s proposed 50-billion-dollar budget ready for House floor action.”
Major budget bills will start coming to the House and Senate floors soon after lawmakers return to the Capitol April 23rd. All those bills must be passed by May 1st, and then House and Senate leaders go into budget negotiations. The deadline for the legislature to adjourn is May 20th.