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State Representative Bob Dettmer
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4124
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
OP/ED COLUMN
Unallotment Decision Further Complicates Budget Woes
By Bob Dettmer
State Representative
District 52A
On May 5, Minnesota’s budget deficit went from bad to worse when the state Supreme Court ruled the unallotments Governor Pawlenty used to balance the budget last year were unconstitutional. The court’s decision increases the deficit from $536 million to more than $3 billion and leaves the legislature with some tough decisions to make before adjournment on May 17.
The situation is further complicated because it is still unclear if/when $400 million in matching federal Medicaid funding will arrive.
The unallotment decision has been hanging over the legislature since the majority party used $25,000 of taxpayer money to file a friend of the court brief in support of the lawsuit. In the months that followed, House leadership failed to put forward a plan to address the deficit in case the suit succeeded. They were confident enough to use taxpayer dollars but lacked the foresight to produce a full plan. Now House leadership is scrambling to come up with a solution in the final days of session.
Gov. Pawlenty has said many times he will not support any tax increases on Minnesotans and any bill raising taxes is destined for his veto pen. Despite this, House Leadership is proposing a budget plan that increases the tax burden on Minnesota families and small businesses by more than $400 million. It makes up the remaining deficit by reenacting most of Gov. Pawlenty’s unallotments. The spending reductions in the plan are temporary, but the tax increases are permanent.
We need to enact long-term reforms to streamline state government and help it operate as efficiently as possible. With the unallotments overturned, state government spending will increase again this year. The cuts being discussed are actually cuts to spending increase rather than true spending reduction. The bottom line is: we are still spending more, just not as much more.
One-time reductions can solve the problem this year, but they do nothing to address the major structural problems we have that cause continual deficits. My Republican colleagues and I have offered several long-term reforms to help address this issue but have largely been ignored. One is the 15x15 Initiative, which would reduce the size of state government by 15 percent by 2015. We have also proposed setting up a Sunset Commission to review state agencies and departments for waste and duplication and recommend reducing or combining them where possible.
We can solve the budget problem without increasing the tax burden on our families and small business owners but not by maintaining the status quo. Legislators must look for long-term solutions to bring state government into the 21st Century. We need to balance the budget now and enact the reforms necessary to protect our children from these same problems in the future.
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Representative Dettmer encourages constituents to contact him with questions or opinions on any state legislative issue. He may be reached at rep.bob.dettmer@house.mn or 651.296.4124. Mail should be sent to Rep. Bob Dettmer, 329 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.
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- LIMITED SPENDING AND COMPETITVE TAXES GROW OUR ECONOMY - (Posted: Jan 11 2013 3:29PM)
- BOB DETTMER SWORN IN TO FOURTH TERM AS STATE REPRESENTATIVE - (Posted: Jan 11 2013 3:28PM)
- April 5 Legislative Update - (Posted: 2012-04-05 00:00:00)
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