Walz Signs $1.9 Billion Tax Cut, Public Works Borrowing Legislation Into Law

From the Minnesota Reformer:

By Ricardo Lopez

October 21, 2020

Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday signed into law a nearly $1.9 billion tax cut and public works borrowing bill intended to spur a slumpingMinnesota economy amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have a bonding bill,” Walz said shortly after signing the legislation, approved last week by the Legislature after months of negotiations.

Walz thanked the leadership of House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, and Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent, DFL-Woodbury.

Notably absent was a nod to House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, who had pledged not to pass a bonding bill unless Walz relinquished his emergency powers to address the pandemic

The legislation, which required a 60% supermajority vote to pass, faced some GOP criticism because of the size of the legislation. Daudt voted against the bill and encouraged others in his caucus to vote down the bill, but Hortman was able to muster up 25 Republican votes.

The bill-signing event took place at the Ironworkers Local 512 Training Center in St. Paul.

It will take some months, however, for construction to begin on the state’s public infrastructure because Minnesota still needs to sell bonds and put out requests for construction bids, Walz said.

Nonetheless, construction is expected to put many to work at a time when the state’s economy is still hurting from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.

The legislative package also includes one-time cash appropriations for state law enforcement agencies, including the State Patrol and Department of Natural Resources, which deployed officers to help quell the civil unrest this summer following the police killing of George Floyd.

More than $10 million is included in the bill to help defray costs related to the rioting and arson that racked the Twin Cities metro, half of which is paid for by the trunk highway fund. The remainder is from the state’s general fund.

The measure will authorize the state to borrow roughly $1.4 billion in the form of general-obligation funds, but it also includes about $100 million in housing funds.

A tax bill included in the package would also provide cuts intended to help farmers, allowing them a tax deduction for certain property, and it would be retroactive to 2018.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..