ST. PAUL (April 3, 2024) – Small business owners are expressing opposition to the “Full-Time Legislature” proposal at the Minnesota Legislature. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which represents more than 10,000 small business owners in Minnesota, outlined its opposition in a letter to the House State and Local Government Committee, which will consider the proposal (HF 4598) on Thursday at 8:30 am.

In a March 2024 survey conducted by NFIB, 87% of small business owners opposed amending the Minnesota Constitution to create a full-time legislature and support keeping a citizen-led legislature.

“A full-time legislature will be a full-time headache for small business owners and everyone else in Minnesota,” said NFIB Minnesota State Director John Reynolds. “The fact that the full-time legislature proposal is buried into a larger constitutional amendment with two unrelated concepts tells you everything you need to know about how unpopular this idea is with Minnesotans. NFIB will fight to preserve Minnesota’s citizen-led legislature.”

HF 4598 proposes a three-part amendment to the state constitution: (i) a full-time legislature, (ii) an independent redistricting commission, and (iii) a ban on legislators being employed as lobbyists while in office or for one year after leaving office.

In its letter, NFIB Minnesota outlined key reasons small business owners oppose a full-time legislature:

1) our citizen-led part-time legislature allows people from all walks of life, not just career politicians, to serve their neighbors in St. Paul;

2) contrary to proponents’ assertions, a full-time legislature does not mean better governance: in California, the full-time legislature currently faces a $73 billion projected budget deficit; and

3) lawmakers can encourage prioritization and timely completion of work by adopting rules to require more advance scheduling and limiting per diem after key dates.

CLICK HERE to view the full letter.