A policy agenda released by Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor legislators would require $13.5 billion in new spending annually and matching tax increases, according to a report published by the Center of the American Experiment. The analysis examined the Minnesota Values Project Policy Agenda 2027, a 16-page document introduced by DFL lawmakers in July that outlines spending commitments on healthcare, energy, childcare, and education. The report's authors adopted what they describe as the most conservative cost assumptions possible, meaning actual expenses could run higher.
The largest expense in the agenda would come from energy programs, estimated at $4.5 billion annually to weatherize and install clean heating systems in homes and small businesses over ten years. Healthcare initiatives would cost $2.8 billion per year, including $2.7 billion for universal primary care and $86 million to expand MinnesotaCare access. Education spending would total $2.6 billion annually, with the bulk—$2.4 billion—going toward a public health insurance pool for educators modeled on the state employee program. Childcare programs promising low or no-cost access for every Minnesota family would require $2.6 billion in new annual spending. The DFL agenda would arrive on top of an existing budget deficit of roughly $1 billion per year, bringing total new state obligations to around $13.5 billion annually—a 39% increase over current spending levels of approximately $35 billion.
The report calculates that universal primary care would cover Minnesota's 5.8 million residents, minus the 1.1 million already receiving cost-free primary care through Medicaid. Weatherization and electrification costs assume retrofitting half of Minnesota's 2.6 million housing units at $31,000 each and half of the state's 160,773 commercial properties at $30,375 each, spread over a decade. The educator insurance program would cover 141,258 licensed and non-licensed school staff, with the state paying most premium costs as it does for state government employees. The report notes that some proposals remain vague—such as pledges to "support local farms" or ensure workers are "safe on the job"—and weren't assigned cost estimates.
The authors warn that Minnesota can't borrow or print money to finance spending, meaning every dollar of the $13.5 billion would need to come from taxpayers already among the most heavily taxed in the country. The report acknowledges that certain policies, like expanded health insurance for educators, may have bipartisan appeal, and that some education spending enjoys Republican support. But it argues the scale of new taxation would deal a severe blow to affordability in a state where the economy already grows more slowly than the national average. The report concludes that extracting this level of revenue from Minnesota residents and businesses would represent a massive fiscal burden, particularly given past instances of fraud that cost the state billions.