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State Representative John Ward
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4333
For more information contact: Ted Modrich 651-296-5809
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Rep. Ward: Minnesota Still Facing Budget Deficits, Work Remains
(ST. PAUL) — In today’s budget forecast, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) announced that the state is facing a $1.1 billion structural budget deficit in the 2014-2015 biennium. State Representative John Ward (DFL – Brainerd) says that a lot of work remains to be done.
“While there is some positive news in this forecast, Minnesota is still facing a serious deficit,” said Rep. Ward. “The legislature needs to work together and work with Governor Dayton to find a balanced approach and address our budget in a responsible, fair manner that doesn’t continue the squeeze on middle-class families. It’s long past time for us to permanently solve our budget problems.”
The state budget deficit is a result of one-time measures — $643 million from tobacco bonds and $2.8 billion in borrowing from schools — passed in the last state budget. These measures are not reoccurring and therefore not available for future budgets. When inflation is included, the budget deficit increases to nearly $2 billion.
A balance of $1.3 billion remains for the current biennium and by law that money must be used to pay back the remaining $2.4 billion owed to Minnesota public schools, leaving $1.1 billion still owed.
“The partial payback of the school shift is good news, but we still owe them more than $1 billion and must also address the other challenges facing our schools like large class sizes and local budget cuts,” said Rep. Ward. “Ensuring that our children can get a good education is absolutely essential to growing our economy and the middle-class.”
The federal “fiscal cliff” is adding a high degree of uncertainty to the budget forecast. If no agreement is reached, MMB predicts that Minnesota’s unemployment rate could rise to 7.1 percent in 2014. The next budget forecast is expected in late February or early March of next year.
“This forecast gives us a glimpse of the challenges ahead, but ultimately our budget discussions will be shaped by both the ‘fiscal cliff’ debate taking place in Washington and Minnesota’s next budget forecast in February,” added Rep. Ward. “I hope our national leaders can reach an agreement, and I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work with members of both parties to address the challenges facing our state.”
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