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Budget deadline quickly approaching
By Senator Rod Skoe
Minnesota Senate
This week will mark six weeks before the legislature and the Governor must agree
on a budget deal to complete the legislative session by May 23, the constitutional
deadline. One of those weeks will be reserved for observation of Easter and
Passover, which really leaves five weeks to complete our work.
The Senate and House finished passing budget bills through the respective
chambers this week. Next week, conference committees will begin meeting to
resolve differences between the two bills.
Governor Mark Dayton stands ready to begin negotiating a solution that will
eliminate the $5 billion deficit and create a budget for Minnesota to live on for the
next two years. In fact, he holds weekly breakfast meetings with leadership from
the Republican Party to talk about these issues. At those meetings, he has been
very clear that he will not discuss the budget until a complete, honest solution is
proposed.
So far, that hasn’t happened. The budgets that we were asked to vote on during
the past two weeks don’t solve the deficit. Governor Dayton has a budget proposal
that does eliminate the $5 billion shortfall by using state government cuts and new
revenue. The Republican majority’s budget plan claims to solve the deficit with only
spending reductions, but in reality, only two-thirds of the budget includes real cuts
to state government. Another $828 million in “savings” cannot be backed up by our
state’s non-partisan finance experts. An additional $307.6 million in “savings” is
just shifted out of other special accounts, such as the Fire Safety Account used to
train firefighters across the state.
The budget also includes new revenue: about $35 million in new fees, in addition
to $600 million in new property taxes for every Minnesota homeowner, renter and
business owner.
The budget proposal also creates long-term problems for the state. It completely
eliminates budget reserves – the “rainy day account” that exists for emergency
situations. The Cash Flow Account, which state statute permits to balance around
$350 million, is whittled down to just $50 million, leaving little money with which to
pay day-to-day bills. When the state can’t pay bills, it is forced to borrow from
school districts or businesses – something that has happened more than once
during the past two years.
It’s clear that the Senate’s current budget proposal does not add up. Conference
committees will begin meeting next week to work out details, but until an honest
proposal is put on the table, it’s impossible for the Governor to begin real
negotiations that will result in a budget before the May 23 deadline.
Minnesota Senate
This week will mark six weeks before the legislature and the Governor must agree
on a budget deal to complete the legislative session by May 23, the constitutional
deadline. One of those weeks will be reserved for observation of Easter and
Passover, which really leaves five weeks to complete our work.
The Senate and House finished passing budget bills through the respective
chambers this week. Next week, conference committees will begin meeting to
resolve differences between the two bills.
Governor Mark Dayton stands ready to begin negotiating a solution that will
eliminate the $5 billion deficit and create a budget for Minnesota to live on for the
next two years. In fact, he holds weekly breakfast meetings with leadership from
the Republican Party to talk about these issues. At those meetings, he has been
very clear that he will not discuss the budget until a complete, honest solution is
proposed.
So far, that hasn’t happened. The budgets that we were asked to vote on during
the past two weeks don’t solve the deficit. Governor Dayton has a budget proposal
that does eliminate the $5 billion shortfall by using state government cuts and new
revenue. The Republican majority’s budget plan claims to solve the deficit with only
spending reductions, but in reality, only two-thirds of the budget includes real cuts
to state government. Another $828 million in “savings” cannot be backed up by our
state’s non-partisan finance experts. An additional $307.6 million in “savings” is
just shifted out of other special accounts, such as the Fire Safety Account used to
train firefighters across the state.
The budget also includes new revenue: about $35 million in new fees, in addition
to $600 million in new property taxes for every Minnesota homeowner, renter and
business owner.
The budget proposal also creates long-term problems for the state. It completely
eliminates budget reserves – the “rainy day account” that exists for emergency
situations. The Cash Flow Account, which state statute permits to balance around
$350 million, is whittled down to just $50 million, leaving little money with which to
pay day-to-day bills. When the state can’t pay bills, it is forced to borrow from
school districts or businesses – something that has happened more than once
during the past two years.
It’s clear that the Senate’s current budget proposal does not add up. Conference
committees will begin meeting next week to work out details, but until an honest
proposal is put on the table, it’s impossible for the Governor to begin real
negotiations that will result in a budget before the May 23 deadline.
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