Politics & Government

Thissen: New Finance Bill Spends Money We Don't Have

House Minority Leader Paul Thissen worries that the Republican finance bill spends money based on hopes for future revenue.

(DFL-Minneapolis), who also represents part of Richfield, accused Republicans of betting on future revenues to justify spending money that isn't there during hearings on the state's omnibus finance bill Wednesday.

"If you were a private business and you were going to say, 'OK. We're going to expect we're going to get this revenue in the future and so we're going to spend money now on the bet that we're going to get that money in the future.' You would be fired almost immediately," Thissen said. " But, that is exactly what you're doing in this bill."

He hoped that members would stand up for their constituents when voting on the bill, but the bill passed 75-61.

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To see his full speech, click "play" on the video above.


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