Don’t Let Pennsylvania Replicate the Minnesota Mess

The 2023 Minnesota legislative session is a stunning example of progressive dreams come true. My crystal ball says it will prove to be a nightmare in years to come. Voters in states like Pennsylvania must learn what Democrat control has wrought in Minnesota.

In 2022, enough Minnesota voters believed Republicans had become so extreme and dangerous that they gave a trifecta — winning the governor’s office and both chambers of the statehouse — to Democrats (known in the state as the DFL for Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. The Farmer-Labor Party in Minnesota merged with the Democratic Party in the 1940s).

Despite only a one-seat majority in the state Senate, progressives decided to jam through their wish list without political consideration or calculation. They rode roughshod over Republicans, completely shutting them out of the legislative process.

The results are radical and extreme. While liberals nationwide hail it as the “Minnesota Miracle,” conservatives call it the “Minnesota Mess.”

Democrats and Republicans disagree about nearly everything that happened during this year’s state legislative session, although both sides agree with former President Obama’s tweet: “If you need a reminder that elections have consequences, check out what’s happening in Minnesota.”

Pennsylvania voters should pay careful attention to how much damage a progressive legislature with a reelected and now term-limited governor with national aspirations can do during one five-month legislative session. Walz probably wouldn’t have signed many of these bills during his first term when he had to face Minnesota voters again. Now, he’s thinking ahead to the Democratic party’s national stage, which progressives control.

During this Minnesota legislative session, nearly 50 bills became law. About half are monumentally significant and warrant warning people in other states. Therefore, this column is long but necessary.

The surplus

Minnesota began 2023 with the largest budget surplus in state history, $17.5 billion.

With a population of about 5.7 million, the surplus is about $3,065 per Minnesotan. If the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had the same per capita surplus with its 13 million residents, the total would be roughly $40 billion.

Logic suggests the state over-taxed residents. Governor Tim Walz, who ran as a “moderate” Democrat, initially proposed rebate checks of up to $2,600 for families and $1,300 for single persons.

If the state collected over $3,000 per person too much, giving back less than half should be an easier decision than hitting mute when a Capitol One credit card commercial comes on.

Progressives in the legislature cut rebates in half to a maximum of $1300 for married couples filing jointly with three or more children ($520 per couple plus $260 per child up to three) for those making up to $150,000. Single taxpayers who make up to $75,000 will receive a $260 check. Those making one dollar more get nothing.

Then the progressives went on a straight party-line spending spree. They spent the rest of the surplus and permanently increased the state budget by 40 percent.

Making government bigger

They funded Democrat pet projects such as public transportation, including new light rail service between the Twin Cities and Duluth, which has about as much utility as one between Philly and Scranton.

There are lots of “freebies:”

Health care for illegal immigrants. Minnesota will become the second state to provide free or low-cost health care to illegal immigrants.
“Free lunch” (and breakfast). Universal free meals to all K-12 students, regardless of income. Even educators arguing they needed resources, but not this program, didn’t deter lawmakers.

Establishing huge new bureaucracies

The new Paid Family and Medical Leave Act covers all Minnesota employees, full-time and part-time, including single-person businesses (only seasonal workers are exempt). It guarantees up to twelve weeks of paid family leave and up to an additional twelve weeks of paid medical leave. A new payroll tax of 0.7 percent (split between employers and employees) will fund the program. A new state government bureaucracy will run it. The state’s Budget Commissioner said it “will likely hire at least 2,000 people over the next couple of years.”

Another law requires Minnesota’s electric grid to be 100 percent carbon-free by 2040. The Center for the American Experiment, a Minnesota Think Tank, estimates it will “cost the state $313.2 billion through 2050 and lead to devastating blackouts.”

To pay for their liberal dreams, they implemented a slew of new taxes and fees, starting with a $1 billion tax increase. That doesn’t include increases and new fees added in other bills such as the Transportation, Housing, or Government Funding Bills.

Raised Minnesota’s top state income tax bracket to 10.85 percent.
Other revenue-raising provisions target businesses and high-income individuals. As if on cue, the number of Fortune 500 companies based in Minnesota dropped from sixteen to fifteen.
Created a new 50-cent delivery fee on retail deliveries of over $100.
Increased the state’s gas tax, currently 28.5 cents. It will rise five cents by 2027.
Raised auto registration fees. It’s been a few years since I paid for tabs in Pennsylvania, but I recall renewing our family’s two cars for about $75. In Minnesota, tags for a recent-era luxury car cost $500 before the increase.
Residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro will pay an additional one-cent sales tax (where the population is overwhelmingly liberal, so it serves them right) — sales tax in parts of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area will exceed 9 percent.
Hunting and fishing licenses and fees for using state parks that supposedly belong to the people are increasing.

Democrats also legalized recreational marijuana. Amazingly, despite all the taxes and fees they created and raised, they did not tax legal pot.

Plenty for the woke, enlightened, and the special interests

Many who voted for Democrats likely support abortion rights. They might be surprised to find the law Democrats passed establishing a “fundamental right to abortion” also:

Permits abortion through all nine months — and repeals the provisions that second and third-trimester abortions must be performed in hospitals.
Repeals a law that requires doctors to provide medical care to babies who survive abortions.
Repeals a law that allowed only physicians to perform abortions in the state.
Removed funding from pregnancy resource centers, but expanded taxpayer-funded abortion.

They passed a transgender refuge bill. It makes Minnesota a refuge state for minors seeking “gender-affirming care.” Once a minor makes it to Minnesota (with or without parental consent), the state is required to ignore laws of other states that prohibit that form of medical procedure. Further, if the parent of a child opposes their child’s request for such care, a Minnesota judge can use the statute to take custody away from the parent.

It’s breathtaking in its tenacity.

Looking out for special interests while bolstering their future electoral chances

Democrats said they wouldn’t consider political consequences. However, they did act to protect their future majorities.

The Drivers Licenses For All Act allows illegal immigrants to receive driver’s licenses. A rental agreement is all that is necessary to obtain one.
Restored felons’ right to vote.
Automatic voter registration. When a person applies for a driver’s license, signs up for state medical insurance, or has a number of other interactions with the state, they automatically are registered to vote.
Sixteen- to seventeen-year-old pre-registration In addition to registering everybody with a driver’s license, they passed a law pre-registering sixteen-year-olds.
Allowed Election Day registration and voting.
Expanded in-person voting up to eighteen days before Election Day.
Allows employees to be absent without wage loss to vote for up to 46 days before the election.
Created a commission to study implementing statewide ranked-choice voting.

Several provisions make it possible for people who don’t even know they are registered to cast ballots in upcoming elections. It will add to the doubts some have about election integrity.

First Amendment rights in jeopardy

Another provision makes spreading misinformation about an election a crime. The Upper Midwest Law Center will challenge it in court because “misinformation” is subjective, and the law violates people’s First Amendment rights. For example, Douglas Mackey, aka Ricky Vaughn, posted memes on Twitter advising Hillary Clinton supporters to “avoid the line” and text in their vote. A Brooklyn, New York jury convicted him of “conspiracy against rights.”

It’s not the only example of interfering with the First Amendment. They also banned “American Indian” mascots, nicknames, logos, letterhead, or team names. Most of these are long gone anyway, and they offend some people. But the First Amendment protects offensive speech, and this law is probably unconstitutional.

The Omnibus Judiciary and Public Safety appropriations funds the creation of a hate-speech database maintained by the Department of Human Rights.

Progressive ideas to make Minnesota “safer”

One of the more bizarre moments of the session was a Democrat proposal to change the state’s Human Rights Act and remove language clarifying that pedophilia is not included in protected sexual orientation classes. Republicans offered an amendment restoring pedophilia as an exclusion from protected sexual orientation groups. That is, Republicans wanted to ensure pedophiles could not claim to be a protected class under the law.

The amendment passed unanimously (126–0). But in the conference committee, where differences between House and Senate versions are reconciled (with no Republicans included), Democrats restored the version removing the amendment from the final bill. Where is this heading?

Other provisions of their Public Safety Bill include:

Giving prosecutors the ability to decrease a judge’s sentence. How is that constitutional?
Creating an “Office for Restorative Justice.”
Grants for inmates’ art projects while incarcerated.
Funding and commissioning a study on eliminating cash bail.
Creating a new program called the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act. This program could allow violent criminals to serve just half of their prison sentences.

“Self-care” for politicians

Lawmakers received a $3,500 raise to $51,750 – not bad for a part-time job. It’s a 7.25 percent increase, almost enough to keep up with Biden-flation.
Lawmakers also received a $20 per day per diem increase.

To be fair, not everything that passed is bad. Democrats introduced a bill that received bipartisan support renaming the highway past Paisley Park Studios, just west of Minneapolis, the “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway.”

These are some of the bills the entirely Democratic-controlled Minnesota House and Senate passed and the state’s Democrat governor signed into law during the 2023 legislative session. These laws will change Minnesota in ways that will make it unrecognizable. Does it make you want to move to Minnesota more?

Progressives acted without thinking about the consequences. Jobs, businesses, and productive people will leave Minnesota by the decade’s end. The new laws will attract more illegal immigrants and people who hope to live off the welfare state — although they may be disappointed by the lack of climate change impact. Watch what progressive legislation does to Minnesota over the next five to ten years.

Elections certainly do have consequences. It’s unclear whether Minnesota voters have figured out they’ve been duped yet. Voters in battleground states like Pennsylvania, please pay attention and don’t duplicate the Minnesota Mess!

Andy Bloom is president of Andy Bloom Communications. He specializes in media training and political communications. He has programmed legendary stations including WIP, WPHT and WYSP/Philadelphia, KLSX, Los Angeles and WCCO Minneapolis. He was Vice President of Programming for Emmis International, Greater Media Inc. and Coleman Research. Andy also served as communications director for Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio). He can be reached by email at [email protected] or you can follow him on Twitter @AndyBloomCom.