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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
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NEWS COLUMN
Budget -balancing unallotments in effect July 1
By Rep. Paul Anderson
Several new laws are scheduled to take effect July 1. Among them is the single piece of legislation passed during the short special session called right after midnight on May 18. This bill brings the state budget into balance by erasing a projected $3 billion shortfall through a series of spending cuts and payment delays. It ratifies most of the unallotment cuts, with a few changes, and makes additional cuts to the areas of health and human services.
The statute that requires the state to delay aid payments to school districts under certain conditions has been modified. Seen as a method for the state to reduce its short-term borrowing when faced with a cash-flow problem, the old law required the state to delay aid payments to schools that had a certain level of cash reserves. The new law says the withholding “may be done.” In addition, the threshold of reserves a school must have before the state can withhold payments has been increased.
Another example of the state delaying payment is a new law that requires the Dept. of Revenue to hold back overpayment of sales and corporate taxes. This will push $152 million that would have been refunded in fiscal year 2011 into the next biennium. Included in the delayed payments are refunds to business for the purchase of capital equipment.
Beginning July 1, payment rates for certain physician and professional services will be reduced by 7 percent. There are exceptions in some areas, including primary care, preventive medicine, and family planning services.
In the future, May 28 will be known as “Veterans of Foreign Wars Day” in Minnesota. The VFW was founded on that same day in 1899 and was federally chartered by Congress on May 28, 1936.
This past session of the Legislature even dealt with the subject of tattoo artists and body piercing. A new law takes effect July 1 that sets standards in these areas. People who work with body art and the establishments where they work will now need to be licensed by the Dept. of Health. In a change from current law, no tattoos may be provided to anyone under the age of 18, regardless of parental consent.
After being dry earlier this spring, recent rains have made everything green again. Certain areas may have missed the moisture, and some may have received too much, but for the most part area crops are looking good. When things dry out again, the second cutting of hay will get into high gear. The small grain harvest may also be somewhat earlier than normal this year because of the early, warm spring weather.
Enjoy the summer and I hope to see many of you at a parade or other civic celebration sometime in the next several weeks. Thanks for the honor of representing District 13A.
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Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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