ST. PAUL — Gov. Tim Walz used his fifth State of the State address to tout his vision for making Minnesota “the best place in America to raise a family,” and to take aim at conservative culture warriors like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Walz started his second four-year term earlier this year, and it's his first legislative session in which his Democratic-Farmer-Labor party has complete control of state government. The governor and DFL majorities have moved swiftly to enact legislation ranging from abortion rights protections to universal free school lunches.
ADVERTISEMENT
As he addressed a joint session of the House and Senate Wednesday night, Walz echoed his January inaugural address, in which he pledged to boost education funding and social programs to lift children and families out of poverty.
“The day I took the oath of office for the second time, I declared that the era of gridlock was over,” Walz said in his speech. “Now we have a new mandate for action — a chance to set aside old fights in favor of doing something truly historic for our children and grandchildren.”
The DFL won control of the Senate, House and governor's office in November after six years of Republicans controlling the Senate.
Besides universal school meals and the abortion rights bill, Walz in recent months signed into law a mandate for 100% clean energy by 2040, restoration of voting rights to more than 50,000 felons on probation, and a bill allowing people in the U.S. illegally to obtain Minnesota driver’s licenses.
And DFL lawmakers are still working to pass bills creating a paid family and medical leave program and significant new spending on education. Walz says a new child tax credit being advanced by DFL lawmakers in their tax bill will reduce child poverty by 25%.
As the May 22 legislative deadline creeps closer, DFLers are now pushing to get their budget together, which adds about $18 billion to the current $52 billion two-year budget.
It’s a significant expansion of spending, but one Walz said would make Minnesota stand out nationally — much as former Gov. Wendell Anderson did in the 1970s when he convinced conservative lawmakers to significantly raise state taxes to boost funding for public schools.
ADVERTISEMENT
That move provided relief to communities across the state that relied heavily on property taxes to pay for schools, and the national press in the day dubbed it the “Minnesota Miracle.” Anderson was featured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1973.
“Fifty years after the Minnesota Miracle, we have another chance to be America’s North Star,” Walz said. “An opportunity to carve out a corner of our country where no child is left hungry. No community is left behind. And nobody gets told they don’t belong.”
'Forces of hatred and bigotry'
Walz touted his and lawmakers' achievements so far this session, but also took his speech into national politics. He contrasted Minnesota’s recent moves on cultural issues with what he described as the “forces of hatred and bigotry” in other states.
In early March, the governor signed an executive order to make Minnesota a “refuge” for transgender youth as surrounding states moved to restrict gender-affirming treatments for minors. A bill to put protections for "gender-affirming care" for minors into law passed the House last month and is scheduled for a vote in the Senate this Friday.
As many states in the U.S. pass legislation aimed at restricting gender-affirming treatments or banning education about sexual orientation and gender identity in public K-12 schools, Walz has increasingly positioned himself in contrast to culturally conservative politicians. He recently held a news conference unveiling a “little free library” in the state capitol dedicated to banned titles.
And while Walz did not mention him by name, he took a shot at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has made national headlines in recent years for his efforts to ban instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in public school classrooms.
“I’m only the governor of this great state, and it’s not up to me how folks in places like Florida go about their business. But I have to tell you, I’m pretty glad we do things our way and not their way,” Walz said. “They’re banning books in their schools. We’re banishing hunger from ours.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Walz also called on lawmakers to pass gun control measures, including universal background checks and a “red flag” law that would allow courts to temporarily ban someone from possessing firearms if deemed an imminent threat to themselves or others. Both of those are advancing in DFL-backed public safety bills.
“The time for hiding behind thoughts and prayers is over, what we need is action, and we need it now,” said Walz, who used to have an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association while serving as a Congressman in southern Minnesota.
GOP lawmakers respond
As he concluded his speech, Walz said he wanted state government not to meddle in Minnesotans’ lives, but to make them easier.
But Republican minority leaders in the House and Senate pointed out that under the current DFL budget framework, Minnesota would vastly increase government spending even though the state has a record $17.5 billion surplus.
“When the governor is talking about ‘Hey, we want to get government out of your life,’ the irony is that right now we're building 30% more government. That’s more bureaucracy, more councils, more red tape, more taxation to support that,” Senate Majority Leader Mark Johnson told reporters after the governor’s speech. “That's just classic doublespeak.”
Johnson, an East Grand Forks Republican, said Walz’s railing against figures like DeSantis seemed more focused on national politics than issues at home.
“What we saw was a national campaign speech,” he said. “It seems the ambitions of the governor are national, and we're starting to forget about the needs of Minnesotans.”
ADVERTISEMENT
House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, pointed to several new taxes being proposed by Democrats, including a 75-cent fee on all food and retail deliveries and fee hikes for driver vehicle services.
“While the Democrats are on their record spending spree, again, you are not hearing dramatic tax relief that isn't being proposed,” she said, later adding: “One way that government can make our lives easier is to reduce taxes.”
Follow Alex Derosier on Twitter or email aderosier@forumcomm.com .
The Trust Project
