Minnesota House of Representatives

Accessibility menu

Menu

Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Joe Atkins

583 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4192

For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406

Posted: 2009-05-19 00:00:00
Share on: 



Column/LTE

STATE BUDGET: DOES “NO DEAL” REALLY MEAN NO DEAL?

To the Editor:

When the dust settles and legislative leaders and the governor stop trading barbs, you may be surprised to find out what really happened regarding the state budget. Though reported as "no deal," here's what actually occurred.

There is agreement between Governor Pawlenty and the legislature on $35 billion of the $36 billion state budget. If this were scored like one of my kids' tests in school, that 97% agreement percentage would merit an "A" grade. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that the desire to score political points will suck attention away from that success.

So how is the remaining $1 billion, representing about 3% of the state budget, going to be addressed over the course of the state's two-year budget between July 2009 and June 2011? New taxes have been ruled out. Borrowing has been ruled out. This means more cuts, right?

Not necessarily. If a modest economic recovery over the next two years brings in more revenue to the state from existing tax rates, those cuts would be reduced or eliminated. To the extent cuts are needed, the governor has authority to do that upon notification of the Legislative Advisory Commission.

I know Governor Pawlenty and legislative leaders share my hope that a modest economic recovery will make an additional $1 billion in cuts unnecessary. I just wish they would spend more time speaking of that shared hope, instead of trying to score political points by tearing each other down.

Joe Atkins
State Representative
District 39B
(651) 296-4192
rep.joe.atkins@house.mn

News Items

Audio & Video

Galleries

No image galleries found

Minnesota House of Representatives  ·   100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Saint Paul, MN   55155   ·   Webmaster@house.mn