A bill passed the House Taxes Committee Tuesday that would put a Constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot asking voters to approve a mechanism to trigger automatic rebates of surplus money.

The author of the bill says taxpayers are still upset by most of a recent $18 billion surplus being spent, with only a small portion going back to some taxpayers. 

“They want a vehicle or a way for surpluses to be returned to help them with the ever-increasing price, cost of living. That’s what this bill does,” says bill author Rep. Wayne Johnson, R-Cottage Grove.

Johnson’s bill would trigger the rebate of any revenue in excess of 105% of projected expenditures. Democrats say it would make it difficult for lawmakers to manage emergencies, like recessions and pandemics.

“Really important things like education are going to be affected if we’re not able to plan for potential emergencies, whether it is federal cuts, whether it is recession that we don’t know the severity of, whether it is a pandemic. We just don’t know and that’s part of what we do in budgeting,” said Rep. Andy Smith, DFL-Rochester.

The bill passed the committee 12 to 11 along party lines, with all Republicans in favor and Democrats against. The bill would require 68 votes in the House to pass.