Walz looks to use budget surplus to send $2K checks to Minnesota families, but not all Democrats agree
MINNEAPOLIS -- Perhaps the biggest election surprise locally was the win by Democrats of both the House and the Senate of the Minnesota legislature.
Even the most optimistic DFLers never saw it coming.
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Democrats held onto the Minnesota House, and by one vote they now have control of the Minnesota Senate.
Come January, the DFL will have only itself to blame if things don't get done at the Capitol.
Minnesota is still sitting on top of a $9 billion surplus. Among the initiatives they will be tackling includes making the right to an abortion a state law, more money for education, paid family leave, and even legalized marijuana.
Gov. Tim Walz on the campaign trail reminded voters he wanted to use the surplus for "Walz checks," giving up to $1,000 to most individuals and $2,000 dollars to couples.
The problem is that not all Democrats are on board. The powerful House Speaker Melissa Hortman was a guest on WCCO Sunday morning.
"We have to have 68 votes to get anything through the Minnesota House of Representatives. I'm not sure if we have 68 votes for that," Hortman said. "We haven't had the chance to appoint our tax chair and to figure out whether that's the direction we're ready to go."
Hortman acknowledges this is a unique opportunity for the DFL to get things done. The last time there was a "trifecta" in state government was a decade ago when Mark Dayton was governor.
The legislature that year notably passed all-day free kindergarten and legalized same-sex marriage.
