In August, NFIB Minnesota presented two state lawmakers with the prestigious Garden of Small Business Statue: Rep. Dave Baker (Willmar) and Sen. Jordan Rasmusson (Fergus Falls).
The Guardian Statue is an award reserved for lawmakers who consistently side with small business on key legislative issues and go the extra mile for Main Street. Baker and Rasmusson, who are both NFIB Members, earned the Guardian Statue for going above and beyond to protect small businesses from harmful mandates, regulations, and tax hikes.
Rep. Dave Baker (Willmar): A longtime small business owner in the hospitality industry, Baker understands the challenges that mom-and-pop businesses face in Minnesota. Among other ventures, Baker owns Green Lake Cruises in Spicer, and you can find him at the captain’s wheel when it’s sailing weather.
“Small business owners are fortunate to have a strong ally like Rep. Dave Baker in the Minnesota Legislature,” said John Reynolds, NFIB Minnesota State Director. “As a small business owner himself, Dave is one of the best at making the case for Main Street and commonsense policies to grow our state.”
(Rep. Dave Baker accepts the NFIB Guardian of Small Business Statue, photo: NFIB)
Baker is finishing up his fifth term in the Minnesota House, where he’s been a leader on workforce development, healthcare, employment regulation, and other issues important to small business owners. Over the past two years, Baker led the fight against harmful employment mandates like the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Program and the Paid Sick Time Mandate.
Together with NFIB and other business organizations, Baker led the development of a private sector-driven alternative to the heavy-handed PFML Mandate. Baker’s voluntary program proposal, HF 3313, would have legalized paid leave insurance plans and created financial stability by pooling state workers into the same paid leave insurance policy as private sector employees. Unlike the PFML mandate, the voluntary alternative attracted bipartisan support.
While the employment mandates became law under single party control in 2023, Baker made the small business case as a leader in the minority caucus. He continues to work closely with NFIB on necessary changes to both PFML and ESST that will relieve the financial and workforce pressure on small business. Along with Sen. Julia Coleman (Waconia), Baker is the lead sponsor of NFIB’s proposal to reform and rein in the PFML mandate.
Baker and his wife Mary reside in Willmar.
Sen. Jordan Rasmusson (Fergus Falls): A first-term member of the Minnesota Senate, Rasmusson has quickly proven himself to be a strong ally of Main Street businesses. As the realities of one-party control became apparent in early 2023, Rasmusson rolled up his sleeves and got to work making the case for protecting small business.
Thanks to Rasmusson’s efforts, small business owners benefit from crucial improvements to the PFML program. This included two key amendments that Rasmusson crafted with NFIB MN:
PFML Tax Cap: Rasmusson successfully added an amendment to cap the PFML Payroll Tax at 1.2% of qualifying payroll. Previously, the new PFML Tax was uncapped and this limit protects small business owners from skyrocketing program costs.
PFML Actuarial Study: For years prior to PFML becoming law, NFIB Minnesota warned the program would be financially unsustainable and the state’s cost projections were way off base. Those warnings proved prescient thanks to actuarial studies released late last year and earlier this year.
(Sen. Jordan Rasmusson accepts the NFIB Guardian of Small Business Statue, photo: NFIB)
Minnesotans learned about the higher costs because Rasmusson also won an amendment requiring independent analysis of the program by a qualified actuarial firm. Without his work, small businesses would still be in the dark.
“We are extraordinarily grateful to Sen. Jordan Rasmusson for standing up for Main Street,” said Reynolds. “Jordan is a talented lawmaker who understands firsthand the pressures that small businesses face in Minnesota.”
Rasmusson owns a business advisory firm and lives with his wife in Fergus Falls.
About the NFIB Guardian of Small Business Award. NFIB evaluates lawmakers based on their voting record, which reflects how each legislator voted on key small business issues as determined by NFIB small business owners. In 2023-24, more than 90 lawmakers scored 100% on the NFIB Minnesota Voting Record.
We are extremely grateful for all the Minnesota lawmakers who took tough votes and stood with our members. In the coming weeks, NFIB Minnesota members will hear more about the state lawmakers who earned the Guardian of Small Business Award.
