Monday Invest in MN rally as legislature, governor head for budget and tax showdown

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The 2009 session of the Minnesota legislature faces a May 18 deadline to adjourn: between now and then, lawmakers must craft a budget that addresses a $6.4 billion deficit for 2010-11 and adopt a tax bill that pays for it.The Minnesota AFL-CIO is helping lead a coalition of labor, faith-based groups and nonprofits — the Invest in Minnesota Coalition — to organize a grassroots lobbying effort to urge adoption of a budget that meets the state’s vital needs. Invest in Minnesota also is advocating that revenue-raising must be a significant part of the solution to resolving the state’s budget deficit — and that the package of revenue solutions must make the tax system more fair. With support from labor, Invest in Minnesota has been advertising in print, on the web, and on television and radio to get its message across. “We need to go back to a fair and balanced approach to taxes,” said Jennifer Schaubach, legislative director for the Minnesota AFL-CIO. “We really have to let the public know what happens if the governor gets his way,” she added. Continue Reading

Hammering out an agreement

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Even though House and Senate majorities are from the same political party, it doesn’t mean agendas are similar or they agree on how things should be done. Just like a family, differences can cause angst and stand in the way of compromise. Take for example how the House and Senate DFL differ in their proposals to balance the 2010-2011 biennial budget and dig the state out of a $4.6 billion hole. These differences filter down to the various finance committees and the bills passed to fund the various state agencies and programs.
If a piece of legislation has any chance of making it to the last stop, the governor’s desk, the House and Senate have to agree on what’s being sent. Bring on a conference committee. Continue Reading

OPINION | Why conservatives should reject the Pawlenty budget

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Despite all of the posturing about controlling growth in government, Governor Pawlenty does not have the most fiscally conservative budget on the table during the current round of budget negotiations. The Minnesota Senate is actually making deeper funding cuts than those proposed by the Governor in each of the next two biennia. Based on information from the non-partisan legislative fiscal staff (PDF), spending reductions in the Senate budget exceed the Governor’s proposed cuts by $226 million in the next two-year biennium (FY 2010-11) and by $651 million in the biennium after that (FY 2012-13). This information should be a wake-up call to recent tea party participants who are complaining about growth in government. The Minnesota Senate is proposing to shrink the state general fund significantly more than the Governor. Continue Reading

Pawlenty vetoes $1 billion tax bill

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Gov. Tim Pawlenty, as promised, has vetoed the $1 billion tax bill passed by the House and Senate last night. The measure would have increase revenues in three areas: a new top-tier income-tax bracket for the state’s wealthiest individuals, an increase in taxes on alcohol and a surcharge on credit card companies that charge interest rates higher than 15 percent.var mnindyHeadline = “MORE FROM”; var mnindyHeadline2 = “Michigan Messenger”; The House passed the bill by a 86-45 margin, with all but one Democrat supporting the measure, while all Republicans opposed it. The Senate then passed it on a 44-20 vote, also along party lines. Democrats had portrayed the tax bill as a compromise because it has the same level of new revenue as Pawlenty’s budget plan. However, the Republican governor’s budget proposal relies on roughly $1 billion obtained by selling bonds backed by future tobacco settlement proceeds, rather than new taxes. Continue Reading

Minnesota still shorting education

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New figures based on those released by the Minnesota Department of Education show that state school districts remain horribly underfunded. They also prove that education underfunding results in tax hikes throughout the state. After adjusting for inflation, per-student school funding from the state was nearly four percent less than it was in 2003. The decline is due to a dramatic, 13 percent cut in aid from the state during that time. While districts asked voters to make up the difference, taxpayers in many areas couldn’t stem the flow of money away from schools. Continue Reading

OPINION | Balancing the budget – where’s the leadership?

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To address the state budget deficit, Minnesota legislators are putting together a budget containing harmful cuts that even some of the legislative authors consider unwise. They are accepting the budget targets that have been given them without considering alternatives. Both the Governor and Legislature are approaching the state budget as if it is merely about numbers, statistics, and rates of growth. We need to have the vision to see how the state budget affects families and communities – real people. We need to recognize what our values are, and provide leadership so our budget reflects them. Continue Reading

Corrections, courts funding concerns

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At a time when most state agencies will likely need to do more with less, the same could be true for the Department of Corrections. While some House members have major reservations with the potential ramifications of reductions proposed in the omnibus public safety finance bill, others believe the contents would not change current standards. “In the bill, we have a combination of cuts, fee increases and reforms,” said Rep. Michael Paymar (DFL-St. Paul), the bill’s sponsor. “Rather than across-the-board cuts we tried to prioritize, to be creative and to demand efficiencies through reform without jeopardizing public safety.”
Amended to include the House language, HF1657/SF802* received House approval April 24 on an 85-45 vote. Continue Reading

Survey: rural Minnesota schools feel the budget pain

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A recent survey of rural Minnesota school districts finds them bearing the brunt of state education underinvestment.In March, Minnesota 2020 partnered with the Minnesota Association of School Administrators to survey school districts about their plans to lay off licensed teachers, administrators and non-licensed staff in response to dwindling finances. The districts reported that on average they plan to lay off 4 percent of their faculty, 5 percent of administration and 6.5 percent of non-licensed staff to make ends meet. About 80 rural school district superintendents responded to the e-mail survey. They were granted anonymity in exchange for their candid responses. “This is the largest employee layoff in any one year in our school district’s history! Continue Reading

Gov’s budget document “not ready for prime time”

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Governor Pawlenty’s Finance Commissioner faced the wrath of the House and Senate leaders on Tuesday for the Governor’s mischaractorizaton of the state’s budget. Commissioner Tom Hanson is grilled by Speaker of The House Margaret Anderson Kelliher about the accuracy of a budget forecast Hanson gave the Governor. Continue Reading