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Highlights from Walz’s State of the State address [1]
['Michelle Griffith', 'More From Author', '- April']
Date: 2023-04-19
Gov. Tim Walz gave his annual State of the State address on Wednesday, highlighting the Legislature’s accomplishments so far this session while spending considerable time bashing Republican-led states.
The second-term DFL governor forcefully denounced GOP states — citing just Florida by name — that have rolled back voting rights, restricted abortion rights and banned books in schools.
He said Minnesota is on a different path.
“It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you stop complaining about corporations going woke and start giving a damn about real people and real lives,” Walz said.
The governor gave his address on the House floor in front of a joint session of members of the House and Senate. The Legislature is in the final weeks of the 2023 session and still needs to decide how to spend the state’s $17.5 billion surplus and build a two-year budget.
Walz highlighted some proposals he said would pass in the coming weeks: paid family leave, one-time rebate checks, child tax credits and gun control. It’s all part of his administration’s effort, he said, to make Minnesota the best state to have a family.
In his first State of the State of his second term, Walz made no mention of working across the aisle. During his first term, Walz presided over divided government and was forced to compromise with a GOP-majority Senate. Instead, on Wednesday he seemed ready to leave that behind, touting Minnesota’s progressive accomplishments this year.
Uncharacteristically, Walz stuck to his prepared remarks and made few ad-libs.
“It was like being at a Democrat pep rally,” Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said after the address. “What we saw was a national campaign speech out there — ignoring the needs of Minnesotans across the state.”
Here are some highlights from Walz’s State of the State address:
A more inclusive ‘Minnesota Miracle’
Walz reminisced about the “Minnesota Miracle” — a series of policies enacted in 1971 under DFL Gov. Wendell Anderson. That’s when Minnesota increased funding for public schools and local governments, which helped alleviate the burden on families in the form of lower property taxes. This also reduced disparities in education quality between wealthy and less affluent districts.
The “Minnesota Miracle” was lauded nationally and landed Anderson on the cover of Time magazine posing with a northern pike and the headline, “The Good Life in Minnesota.”
Walz, however, said it wasn’t really a miracle but a strategic policy effort.
“(It was) patience and hard work – the quiet building of political will behind a vision that was shared by an overwhelming majority of Minnesotans,” Walz said.
He touted the legislation he has signed into law so far this session: $100 million in tax cuts; codifying the right to abortion; free breakfast and lunch for Minnesota students; and allowing undocumented residents to obtain driver’s licenses.
Walz noted that voters last November elected the most diverse Legislature in state history, giving Minnesota the opportunity for another “miracle.”
“We’ve got another chance to be America’s north star — an opportunity to carve out a piece of the country where no child is left hungry, where no community is left behind and nobody gets told they don’t belong,” Walz said.
‘I’m pretty glad we do it our way here’
Walz denounced Republican states for banning books from schools, restricting abortion and loosening gun laws, sure to fuel ongoing speculation that he has his eye on national politics, a spot in a Democratic administration or a third term.
“I’m only the governor of this great state. It’s not up to me how folks in those places — folks like Florida go about their business — but I gotta tell you: I’m pretty glad we do it our way here and not that way,” Walz said.
Johnson after the speech joked to reporters that Walz likely wouldn’t be sending Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a Christmas card.
Johnson said he was shocked about the amount of national references in Walz’s address, saying that it seemed Walz was “starting to forget about the needs of Minnesotans.”
House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, told reporters after the address that the lack of tax cuts for Minnesotans was disappointing and noted that Democrats are proposing a slew of tax increases this session.
“With a record budget surplus of $17.5 billion, returning that to Minnesotans, reducing government and the costs is what our Minnesota residents are looking for,” she said.
A promise of gun control
Walz said he will sign gun control measures into law if they reach his desk. The bills that are still being considered are expanded background checks to include private gun sales and a red flag law allowing authorities to temporarily take someone’s gun away if they are deemed dangerous.
Walz noted that he used to receive an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association when he was in Congress.
“Now I get straight “F’s” and I sleep just fine at night,” Walz said.
The gun control measures face a steep battle in the 34-33 Senate. A few greater Minnesota DFL senators have refused to answer questions about their views on gun control, and gun rights groups are lobbying them and their constituents.
Lawmakers sitting on the Republican side of the House chambers sat silently during several of Walz’s biggest Democratic applause lines, including gun control.
“Let’s keep choosing the right fights. Let’s keep going to bat on behalf of Minnesota families, and let’s keep making Minnesota the nation’s best place for our children to grow up,” Walz said.
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