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State Representative Kurt Zellers
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5502
For more information contact: Jodi Boyne 651-296-0640
NEWS RELEASE
House Republicans Pass a Complete, Balanced Budget No Tax Increases, Spending Reductions, Sweeping Reforms
SAINT PAUL -- (April 6, 2011) -- Minnesota House Republicans today completed their work on balancing the state’s budget with no tax increases.
"This is a complete and balanced budget," said Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers. "We came here to get the job done and that is what we did. Our budget provides tax relief, reduces government spending and reforms how government does business. It is the right direction for Minnesota’s economy, taxpayers and our children’s future."
House Republicans cuts $3.6 billion in projected spending. It provides $300 million in tax relief, including income tax relief for all Minnesotans and business tax relief that will help improve Minnesota’s business climate. It protects nursing homes, the disabled and classroom funding, and increases funding for veterans and military affairs.
A focal point of the House Republican budget is the sweeping reform measures in the areas of education, government and health care.
House Republicans create a teacher evaluation system that replaces the seniority-based retention process and an A-F school grading system that will make is easier for parents to evaluate and compare schools. They also provide opportunity scholarships to help low-income students in chronically low-performing get the education they deserve and early graduation incentives to help students pay for their higher education.
"We are setting new standards for accountability to improve, measure and evaluate student achievement, which is the ultimate goal of all Minnesotans and our education system," Zellers said.
The government reforms implemented by House Republicans will reduce costs, reduce bureaucracy and improve service delivery. Some of the reform measures will consolidate some state services, enhance revenue collections, review and retire unnecessary, outdated or duplicative government operations, and reduce the state workforce by 15 percent by 2015 through retirement, attrition and other means.
"Government reform is long overdue. We have the tools to change the way government does business and the need to make government more responsive, cost-effective and sustainable to the citizens it serves and those who pay for it," Zellers said.
Minnesota has the best health care system in the nation. To ensure the state retains flexibility in responding to Minnesota’s current and future health care needs, House Republicans repeal the early Medical Assistance (MA) enrollment and seek a federal Medicaid global waiver and block grant for cost effective, coordinated care. A similar program implemented in Rhode Island resulted in a $2.7 billion reduction in MA spending.
Other health care initiatives include welfare reform that includes work requirement for general assistance and limits on EBT card usage, numerous program spending freezes, and increased local control.
"Governor Dayton wants a $2.4 billion job-killing tax increase to fuel a massive percent growth in government spending. He is only one of nine governors to propose spending at levels that exceed pre-recession state spending," Zellers said. "Our budget doesn’t burden taxpayers. It is fiscally responsible, does not raise taxes and focuses government on responsive performance, not good intentions."
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