Below is a statement from the Governor on today's proposal tying a stadium bill to property taxes.

"The Party of property tax increases is at it again. Some Republican legislators now want to force me into accepting their scheme for eliminating all property taxes on businesses in order to get their approval for a new "People's Stadium."

Evidently, they don't care about everyone else who pays property taxes in Minnesota, like home-owning families, farmers, senior citizens, and renters. Republican legislators proved last year that they don't care about those property tax burdens, when they eliminated the Homestead Market Value Credit. If they now eliminated all the property taxes that businesses pay, everyone else's property taxes would inevitably increase in order to fund our cities, counties, townships, and public schools.

I will not raise taxes on the people of Minnesota to build a new stadium - not property taxes and not any other general tax. I will continue to work cooperatively with the Republican authors of the stadium bill, their DFL colleagues, the City of Minneapolis, and others, who want to find a responsible way to put several thousand Minnesotans back to work."