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State Representative Andrew Falk
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4228
For more information contact: Charlie Vander Aarde 651-297-8406
NEWS COLUMN
MISPLACED PRIORITIES REPLACE COMPROMISE IN ST. PAUL
The Minnesota Legislature is nearing the end of its 2011 session which is constitutionally mandated to finish by May 23. Voters said jobs were a priority last fall and told legislators to get their fiscal house in order. My colleagues and I reported to St. Paul in January on a mission to balance the budget and create jobs.
The news from St. Paul is a case study in misplaced priorities. Despite a drumbeat of rhetoric from the Republican leadership about aggressive timelines, we are behind schedule and running out of time. Neither the House nor Senate has passed balanced budget bills. The budget bills passed by House Republicans are out of balance by more than $1.2 billion while the Senate Republican bills are off by more than $1.16 billion. Despite running on the rhetoric of an all-cuts budget, there has been a distinct inability to present such a solution. Instead, raiding of funds, transfers and Enron-style accounting gimmicks have been banked on to balance the state budget.
A proverbial job counter gauge that should be ticking upward has instead become a job loss counter. GOP proposals will lead to a loss of more than 30,000 jobs, most of them in the private sector. These include good middle class jobs in the health care, education and transportation sectors.
The Speaker of the House noted on April 29, “We’re focused like a laser on budget issues." Despite those claims, the current leadership is on track to be the most behind schedule of previous legislatures and may not pass a complete, balanced budget at all. In 2007, with Democrats in control of both the House and Senate, a complete budget had been passed by May 7 and sent to Governor Pawlenty. Even though the governor vetoed some of those bills, the responsible timeline allowed the end-of-session negotiations to begin with enough time to work out the differences and pass a balanced budget on time.
There is a path to complete the key work of this session. The Agriculture bill was negotiated on a bipartisan basis and compromises were made to craft a bill that could garner legislative support and Governor Dayton’s signature. The other budget bills are sitting in conference committees, waiting for the green light from legislative leadership before they can move forward.
So what has happened? Beyond the laser focus on the budget, a handful of constitutional amendments have been proposed that do nothing to balance the budget or create jobs. Rather, they distract from Minnesota’s job creation and economic growth priorities and instead focus on divisive social issues.
Contrast this session with what happened two years ago. In the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, Democrats in the House and Senate came together in a bipartisan effort with Governor Pawlenty to create sensible growth policies like the Angel Investor Tax Credit, Historic Building Restoration and Preservation Tax Credit. The legislature passed a comprehensive bonding bill that put Minnesotans back to work rebuilding roads, bridges, and public infrastructure. Those policies cumulatively led to the creation of thousands of jobs that continue to pay dividends across the state.
Recent history shows there is a clear distinction in how we can define good government. When the party in control believes good public policy can lead to a stronger economy and a better place to live and work, those results manifest themselves. When the party in control believes that government is the problem, there is an incentive to ensure that government and public services fail. While I am still optimistic that a compromise can be reached before legislative adjournment, if the majority caucuses are not able to get their work done on time, not all of their members will view that as a failure.
News Items
- HOUSE APPROVES ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES & AG BUDGET - (Posted: May 20 2013 3:05PM)
- House approves HHS budget that saves $50 million through reforms - (Posted: May 17 2013 12:00AM)
- HOUSE PASSES HIGHER EDUCATION BILL FREEZE TO TUITION, INCREASE LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT OF U of M and MnSCU SPENDING - (Posted: May 17 2013 12:00AM)
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