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State Representative Dean Urdahl
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4344
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
OP/ED COLUMN
PROCESS OF RESOLVING DEFICIT OFFICIALLY STARTS
By State Rep. Dean Urdahl
Gov. Pawlenty offered his budget proposal for resolving Minnesota’s nearly $5 billion deficit and now it’s up to the Legislature to respond to his suggestions so we can rectify our state’s bottom line.
The Legislature will respond with some ideas of its own, but the governor gave us a good starting point. The proposal calls for a 2.2 percent reduction in state spending over the next biennium. It cuts spending in some areas, increases spending in others, holds the line elsewhere, and lowers business taxes in an effort to attract new jobs. The plan also erases the deficit without increasing taxes.
Economic times are tight right now so it was good to hear the governor propose initiatives to improve our business climate. In this economic downturn, one of our biggest double-edged swords is this: For each Minnesotan who loses their job, the state loses tax revenue. That is just one thing contributing to the problem of our state outspending its revenue.
We need to work to create jobs in Minnesota. Our business tax is the highest in the nation, so Pawlenty suggests we cut the tax in half. Providing tax incentives to our businesses is a good idea. Tax credits create jobs and I’ve been pushing for these the last five years.
One of the biggest areas of concern is in regard to Local Government Aid. A number of cities and counties use these aid payments from the state to provide local services and some fear substantial cuts would be crippling. Pawlenty proposes trimming LGA by 25 percent over the next two years. Counties would be able to restore some of the cuts by participating in shared service agreements for greater efficiency. This is one topic sure to be heavily scrutinized by the Legislature and I look forward to reviewing all the details of the proposal.
Meantime, I am pleased there were no cuts to nursing homes in the governor’s plan. We urged the governor to spare nursing homes from any budget cuts and his proposal makes good on our requests. Nursing homes still are operating on thin budgets, but at least no cuts are included in this budget plan.
One area where the governor proposes increased funding is in K-12 education system. Pawlenty plans a 1.9-percent spending increase and there is potential for an even larger bump for districts participating in Q-Comp, the pay-for-performance program for teachers.
We have a quality education system in Minnesota, but we can do better and I’m open to the governor’s suggestions. I spent more than 30 years as a teacher and have ideas of my own so I look forward to sitting down with the governor’s staff to explain what I feel would be beneficial.
Spending in some areas have been growing at an unsustainable rate, especially in today’s economy. That might be the case for Health and Human Services, where Pawlenty proposed an increase in funding of about 9 percent, roughly half of what was anticipated.
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Dean Urdahl represents District 18B in the Minnesota House of Representatives. The district includes most of Meeker County and a portion of Wright County. This is Urdahl’s fourth term in the Legislature after being elected in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008.
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