Senate Majority Leader David Senjem celebrated news of the state's higher-than-expected revenue in February and March – and suggested the GOP deserves at least some of the credit.
"This additional surplus is now a trend," Senjem, R-Rochester, said in a statement Wednesday. "It is a result of many factors but certainly one of those factors is the spending restraint Republicans exercised and tax policies we implemented last session."
"It was only one year ago that we were facing a $5 billion deficit in our state's budget," Senjem's statement concluded. "Today -- after making some tough decisions -- we are in a position where Minnesota can move forward and thrive. Republicans will not rest on our laurels but continue to prioritize policies like those that led to these successes and put Minnesota on the path to prosperity."
Despite Senjem's theory, MMB reported a good chunk of the uptick comes from one-time events and shouldn't be taken as proof that the state's economy is back on rock solid revenue. The $56 million uptick in income tax revenue, for example, "appears to be one-time, attributable to larger than projected bonuses, not, stronger-underlying wage growth," the MMB reported. The state also can't describe the additional revenue as a true surplus until the books are officially balanced and it issues its next forecast.
