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State Representative Tim Faust
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-0518
For more information contact: Michael Howard 651-296-8873
Column/LTE
Legislative Update: Governor Releases His State Budget
The two broad agenda items for the 2009 legislative session continue to be solutions to help Minnesota recover from our economic recession and a responsible budget solution to close our $4.8 billion state budget deficit. How we accomplish both are critical to the short and long term economic health of our state.
At the State Legislature we have introduced the Minnesota Economic Recovery Act to maximize the economic impact of the federal economic stimulus package that is working its way through Congress. The current proposal being considered may send upwards of $3 billion to Minnesota for various purposes including job creation investments in transportation infrastructure, health care, and education.
Regardless of any federal economic stimulus, the Legislature still faces the difficult task of balancing our $4.8 billion budget deficit. The Governor released his budget proposal this past week. We have begun looking it over to see where there are points of agreement and disagreement as we work towards a solution. At first glance the Governor’s budget is very concerning for greater Minnesota and the long term economic vitality of our state.
Broadly, the Governor’s budget plan includes $2.5 billion in cuts to state programs and services, $2 billion in accounting shifts and borrowing, $1 billion in expected federal aid and $825 million in new spending for businesses tax cuts and replenishment of budget reserves. The plan is unfortunately very similar to his plan in 2003 that sparked double-digit tuition increases at our colleges and universities, forced thousands to lose health insurance and over $2 billion in property tax increases.
His deep health care cuts would kick over 80,000 low wage earning working adults off MnCare and reduce funding to our hospitals and nursing homes. The $300 million cut to higher education has some University of Minnesota and MnSCU officials suggesting steep jobs cuts and tuition hikes. Perhaps most concerning are the nearly $500 million in cuts to Local Government Aid. Cuts of this magnitude (over 40% for some cities and counties) will almost certainly force steep property tax increases. He is also borrowing over $2 billion to close the deficit, which pushes a significant amount of debt that will have to be paid off in the future.
To be fair, the Governor, Legislature and state are all in the same difficult position. There are no easy solutions or answers to fix our budget and serious sacrifices are needed. However, I believe we can find a better solution if get more public input and consider new ideas. We should abandon the failed narrow approaches used in past budget situations that force the majority of Minnesotans to bear such a heavy burden.
I am working on a few specific proposals to reduce government spending while preserving the quality of service in government, including efforts to reduce the bureaucracy in St. Paul. Another initiative I am working on would eliminate unnecessary or redundant state mandates for cities, counties and school districts to save money and give them more flexibility.
We also owe it to Minnesotans to put all options to balance the budget on the table and give Minnesotans a chance to weigh in. Although the Governor didn’t include any state tax increases in his budget, his proposed cuts to Local Government Aid will raise property tax payers. We should get input from the public on which they prefer: an income tax increase on wage earners making over $400,000 per year or steep property tax increases to hold the line on property taxes.
I am convinced our state budget solution will be stronger if it includes your ideas. Please contact me with your input on the budget by phone at (651) 296-0518, by e-mail me at rep.tim.faust@house.mn, or write me a letter to 567 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155.
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