Walz campaigns on new benefits passed in Minnesota's 2023 legislative session

Minnesota's recent slate of progressive policies have become fodder for the presidential campaign, as Gov. Tim Walz touts what he terms family-friendly programs, and Republicans and the state's largest business groups call for another look.

Since Vice President Kamala Harris named Walz her running mate, the Democratic campaign has called for national implementation of some of the policies passed in Minnesota's 2023 legislative session, including an expanded child tax credit, paid leave and free meals at school.

"I'm really grateful Governor Walz has been able to elevate this issue on a national stage," said Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis, who carried the school meals bill in the House. "I hear regularly from colleagues across the country in other statehouses about how they can do that in their state."

Walz also campaigns on paid family and medical leave and the state's expanded child tax credit, bringing them up in the vice presidential debate and in subsequent television appearances.

During the pandemic, federal relief funds temporarily expanded the child tax credit and gave all public school students free meals at school through the end of the 2021-22 school year.

Minnesota is one of the states where legislatures voted to continue both programs by using state funding after the pandemic funds lapsed. Minnesota expanded the state child tax credit for lower-income families to partly cover the extra money that had come through the federal credit, and extended the free school meals program with state funding. Minnesota also became one of 22 states with a form of paid family and medical leave, though the program will not take effect until 2026.

The cost of living has been central to both presidential campaigns, with both Harris and former President Donald Trump saying they want to lower costs, especially for families. During the vice presidential debate, both Walz and Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance, said they supported expanding the child tax credit.

Throughout the campaign, Walz has pointed to universal free school meals and Minnesota's expanded child tax credit as policies that have made it more affordable to raise children, as well as touting the paid leave program.

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Business Partnership opposed paid leave — and the payroll tax that will fund the program — while the program was supported by the Main Street Alliance of Minnesota. The state's Department of Employment and Economic Development has been touring the state to help business owners get up to speed on the new requirements.

Minnesota is one of only nine states where all public schools can offer free meals to students, though some have opted out of the program.

Walz has used the program to parry attacks that DFL leadership pushed Minnesota in radical directions over the last two years. The campaign has made heavy use of photos of Walz beaming as schoolchildren piled onto him with hugs after he signed the bill, but that was not always the reception.

The bill was controversial at the Capitol, Jordan recalled, because many Republican legislators were concerned about the cost. Jordan said some doubted that there were needy children in the state, and others questioned whether the benefit should be extended to children from well-off families.

Jordan said the discussion evolved from banning "lunch shaming," or the practice of making it known when a child is unable to pay for school lunch, to free meals for everyone. Jordan said she heard from families just above the income threshold that qualifies them for free and reduced-price lunch, and said parents often ran into problems with school lunch debt, or found it difficult to cover the cost of school meals.

"It was the right thing to do for kids' health, for families' health, and academic outcomes in school," Jordan said.

The program continues to receive scrutiny as the projected costs have risen. The meals program was projected to cost about $400 million over two years, but because of rising food costs and lower-than-expected federal reimbursement, it's projected to cost Minnesota another $81 million in the next two years.

Minnesota was one of 15 states that created and expanded state child tax credits after the pandemic, and the temporarily expanded federal child tax credit. Minnesota's credit, up to $1,750 per child, is the highest in the country for lower-income families.

Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, said there is bipartisan backing for some kind of credit, but she isn't sure Minnesota's credit is the best way to make life easier for low-income families.

"For people who are struggling, I'm not sure it's really useful," she said.

Robbins said she's not sure everyone eligible for the credit will apply, and said there are families who don't quite qualify but could still use a lower tax bill.

The new child tax credit was available for the first time in early 2024, for families filing taxes that covered 2023. Some 215,000 households claimed the credit, covering 437,000 children, according to Walz's office.

Republicans in Minnesota have said they would prefer a child tax credit that is available to both low- and middle-income families, and Robbins said she thought it would benefit families more to simply drop the state's tax rate for lower-income residents — to keep more money in their pockets, she said, and to make the process simpler.

"In the long run, it's better to simplify the tax code and lower the rates," Robbins said.

Trump and Vance have both supported an expanded child tax credit. Vance has said he favors one that gives the same benefit to all families, regardless of income. And Trump's 2017 tax cuts doubled the maximum value of the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000, but that provision, like individual tax cuts, is set to sunset in 2025.

But Robbins said she doesn't think credits and new programs are the best way to make life more affordable for families. She does not think people are getting great returns with the new spending approved in 2023.

"My guess is families are way worse off with all the tax and fee increases," she said.