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State Representative Paul Rosenthal
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-7803
For more information contact: Charlene Briner 651-296-5809
Column/LTE
Rep. Rosenthal Discusses Session Challenges
To the Editor:
An unprecedented $6.4 billion budget shortfall made the 2009 Legislative Session one of the most difficult in modern history.
Despite the tendency to focus on differences, the Legislature and the Governor worked together for the most part. Important bills to reform government, protect our natural resources, and maintain transportation and other infrastructure were signed into law, including a bill I authored to protect and improve the quality of Minnesota’s lakes.
The Legislature also sent a responsible, fully balanced budget to the Governor. Carefully crafted and publicly vetted, the Legislature’s budget protected K-12 education, created jobs, and maintained public safety.
Despite great effort, we were unable to reach agreement on a final budget. While both sides agreed both significant cuts and new revenue were necessary to balance the budget, fundamental differences persisted over what kind of new revenue is the most responsible and fair.
The Governor proposed borrowing $1 billion in one-time money, and paying it back over 20 years at an additional cost of up to $800 million. I’ve been dismayed by federal borrow and spend practices and could not support the same for Minnesota. Instead, I supported a more fiscally responsible “pay-as-you-go" approach—targeted, temporary and progressive revenue—to balance the budget.
Because the Governor rejected the Legislature’s budget plan, he will now use the process of unallotment. Without public or legislative input, he alone will make the decision about which budget items to protect and which to cut by nearly $3 billion. Signaling his intention to focus largely on health and human services, he has already eliminated a health care program for our state’s sickest and poorest citizens and the hospitals that care for them.
As the Governor’s unallotment plans emerge, I’ll continue working to help you and our local officials fully understand the consequences and to minimize the impact on our citizens and our community.
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- STATE REP. ROSENTHAL SWORN-IN AS LEGISLATIVE SESSION BEGINS - (Posted: Jan 9 2013 11:24AM)
- STATE REPRESENTATIVE ROSENTHAL TO HOLD TOWN MEETING - Invites residents to join him for a discussion of the 2010 legislative session - (Posted: 2010-04-22 00:00:00)
- STATE REP. PAUL ROSENTHAL LAUDS START OF WORK ON HIGHWAY 169/INTERSTATE 494 INTERCHANGE - (Posted: 2010-04-07 00:00:00)
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