DULUTH (April 15, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which represents more than 10,000 small business owners in Minnesota, is leading the charge against the full-time legislature proposal currently under consideration by state lawmakers. Local job creators want to preserve Minnesota’s citizen-led, part-time legislature, which allows people from all walks of life to serve in St. Paul.

In an op-ed for the Duluth News Tribune and an interview with KNSI’s ‘Ox in the Afternoon’, NFIB State Director John Reynolds outlined the concerns of small business owners.

During a conversation on KNSI radio, Reynolds noted that 87% of small business owners oppose a full-time legislature, saying:

“We surveyed our members, just like we do whenever we take a position on a legislative issue. We asked them, ‘Should we abandon our citizen-led, part-time legislature that meets from January to May each year and go to a full-time legislature?’ Not surprisingly, 87% of small business owners in the state said ‘no.’[…]

“We’ve been a part-time legislative state, just like 40 other states in the country, since our founding in 1858. The whole purpose is to have citizen leaders in St. Paul making decisions on behalf of their friends, family, and communities. People with real-life experience. […] In a full-time legislature, you get career politicians. These are people who can’t have outside jobs because this is their full-time job.”

CLICK HERE to listen to the full interview.

In the op-ed, Reynolds warns that only four other states in the country have a full-time legislature, which has had a host of problems, including political scandals, enormous deficits, and other irresponsible governance.

“California lawmakers entered this year facing a staggering $73 billion projected budget deficit. […] New York is grappling with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. Minnesota already faces a sizable hole in the next budget cycle. The experience in those states suggests a full-time legislature would make that problem worse, not better.

“Moreover, some of the biggest political corruption scandals in recent history have occurred in full-time legislatures. In 2015, the longtime leaders of both chambers in the New York Legislature — one Democratic and one Republican — were indicted on numerous federal corruption charges, including fraud and extortion.”

CLICK HERE to read the full op-ed. Excerpts are below:

Full-Time Legislature Would Be Full-Fledged Disaster for Minnesota

Duluth News Tribune
By: John Reynolds
April 12, 2024

Since 1858, the Minnesota Legislature has addressed the challenges of crafting a budget and resolving pressing problems to the best of its ability in a limited window of time. By late May each year, state lawmakers return to their lives as ordinary citizens: farmers, teachers, store owners, carpenters, bartenders, accountants, caretakers, and parents.

Now, prominent Democratic lawmakers want to ditch our citizen-led legislature and go full-time. […]

Only four states have legislatures that are truly full-time, including New York and California. Rather than promote more deliberate and responsible decision-making, those states have suffered under some of the most fiscally irresponsible governance in the country.

California lawmakers entered this year facing a staggering $73 billion projected budget deficit. Their deficit is larger than Minnesota’s entire budget. […]

Moreover, some of the biggest political corruption scandals in recent history have occurred in full-time legislatures. […]

The structure of Minnesota’s full-time legislature proposal is also cause for concern. In a cynical move, it’s wrapped in a larger proposed amendment to our state’s constitution that includes an independent redistricting commission and a ban on state lawmakers being employed as lobbyists while in office or for one year after they leave. […]

In the four states with true full-time legislatures, state lawmakers make an average of $112,000 per year — more than double the current taxpayer-funded salary for Minnesota lawmakers.

Main Street wants people with real-life experience, not career politicians, making decisions about our state’s future.

Minnesota faces serious challenges in the coming years: fiscal constraints caused by unsustainable spending, chronic worker shortages, and one of the highest tax burdens in the country among them.

Solving these problems will require innovation, collaboration, and bipartisanship, not enabling career politicians to micromanage our lives and waste more of our time and money.