Newsmakers: Rep. Kristin Robbins Talks Session Ahead, Aims for ‘Serious Policy Fixes’
Rep. Kristin Robbins calls the spending approved by the legislature this year “reckless” and “fiscally irresponsible.”
“It’s very troubling to see that the state had a $17.5 billion surplus and this coming end of the fiscal year that we are in right now, there will be a small budget surplus of $2.4 billion, which is historically large but given what we just spent, it’s small,” said Robbins. “The forecast shows that in the next budget cycle we’ll be in a $2.3 billion deficit, so as predicted with the enormous spending of this last session, a 38 percent increase in state government has set us up for future deficits.”
Robbins believes legislators will move forward more cautiously with spending.
“I think the majority is realizing that they way overspent this session and everything they put in place has not even hit the books yet,” said Robbins, referring to initiatives like the Office of Cannabis Management, the new Paid Family Leave Office, and the renovation of the State Office Building. “I think they realize that moving forward they have to be very cautious.”
As far as other issues that might come up in the 2024 legislative session, Robbins says she’s fully supportive of getting school resource officers back in the district.
“In our district, half of the schools have them and half of them don’t,” said Robbins. “I hear from parents who really want to get our school resource officers (SROs) back.”
Local police have spoken out about the need for SROs in schools, like Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley addressing the Osseo School Board last fall.
A Push for SROs
Robbins says there’s a student petition at Osseo schools to get the SROs back.
“I’ve been working with Chief Werner here at the Maple Grove Police Department and other leaders to craft some language in the next session and I believe we’ll hopefully make that a priority next session.”
Robbins says she’s always optimistic about the session ahead and she’s hoping for some “serious policy fixes” in the next legislative session.
“There are so many needs, which is why I’m so frustrated about spending $730 million on the renovation of the state office building. That money could be used in so many other areas where the state really had needs, so I’m hoping that we can bring some common sense and some fiscal responsibility to the legislature and get out of there with some policy wins.”
See also: Newsmakers: Rep. Kristin Robbins Talks About Social Media and Kids
