Sign On to Oppose Constitutional Amendments that Put Minnesota's Future At Risk
Three proposed constitutional amendments have been introduced that would prevent a majority of lawmakers from determining the overall size of the state's budget and managing available resources.
Such actions would prevent public investments in our infrastructure from keeping up with growth in the economy, and they restrict the state’s ability to fund schools, safeguard the public health and maintain other critical services.
Experience from other states demonstrates that, whatever form such amendments take, they share similar problems. They remove flexibility to respond to evolving public needs, increase the likelihood that policymakers will resort to one-time fixes or accounting gimmicks, restrict the state’s ability to respond to emergencies, empower a small number of legislators to block action on important priorities, and erode essential functions of government.
State your opposition to constitutional budget limits by endorsing the following statement:
We support preserving the ability of a simple majority of lawmakers to determine the overall size of the state budget and to manage available resources.
Therefore, we oppose any amendment to Minnesota’s Constitution that would require a supermajority vote to raise taxes or use reserve funds, or would restrict lawmakers from using available resources.
Amendments such as these would damage Minnesota’s economic future by sharply limiting policymakers’ flexibility to respond to changing demographics and emerging needs. Lawmakers would find it harder to reach agreement, leading to an increase in legislative gridlock and the use of more budget gimmicks.
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You can also print this statement and circulate hard copies.
