Accessibility menu
State Representative Joyce Peppin
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-7806
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
2010 Session Finishes With Much Work Left for the Next Legislature
To the Editor,
The 2010 legislative session finally came to a close on May 17 after many long nights and several rounds of negotiations. It was one of the strangest I’ve seen since I was first elected in 2004.
At the beginning of the session the state faced a roughly $800 million budget deficit. But House Democrats instituted a lawsuit (at a cost to taxpayers of about $25,000) to overturn Governor Pawlenty’s 2009 spending reductions or “unallotments.” They won. Just eight days before the end of session the courts ruled against Governor Pawlenty’s unallotments and the Legislature was then forced to balance a $3.1 billion budget deficit.
After once again failing to get the job done on time and needing a one-night special session, the Legislature finally passed a balanced budget agreement. Ironically, despite the $25,000 lawsuit victory, the final agreement ratified most of the governor’s unallotments and funding shifts on a one-time basis. It also enhanced the current general assistance medical care agreement for low income Minnesotans to help rural hospitals, and will allow the next governor to choose whether to opt-in to the federal Medicaid expansion.
On one-hand, the agreement represented a compromise that balanced the budget without raising taxes and avoided a California-style bankruptcy. On the other, it left a significant future budget shortfall, moved us closer to the controversial federal health care law and passed much work on to the next Legislature. For these reasons, among others, I voted no on the final bill.
Because little progress was made towards next year’s impending $6 billion deficit, many tough choices face the 2011 Legislature. By not making the spending cuts permanent and not passing significant reforms, we missed a real opportunity to reduce the budget shortfall for next year. Going forward, Minnesota must control spending and ensure that our tax environment becomes more competitive.
We must also seek to truly reform government by finding ways to streamline and eliminate inefficiencies. To that end, I will continue to work on legislation to create a Minnesota Sunset Commission that will force the Legislature to shut down or consolidate agencies, councils and programs that no longer make sense or are inefficient. These kinds of reforms will help spur economic improvement and the corresponding job growth that follows.
It is truly an honor to bring our community’s voice and values to St. Paul. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks again for allowing me to serve as your State Representative.
Sincerely,
Joyce Peppin
State Representative
News Items
- PEPPIN REPORT: NW SUBURBAN FAMILIES WILL BE HIT HARD UNDER DAYTON AND DFL BUDGET - (Posted: May 28 2013 4:35PM)
- Rep. Peppin’s bill would lessen unfair fiscal disparities tax burden on Rogers - (Posted: Apr 3 2013 9:36AM)
- PEPPIN REPORT: FEBRUARY FORECAST REVEALS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE STATE SURPLUS - (Posted: Feb 28 2013 12:00AM)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.