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State Representative Kelby Woodard
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-7065
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Email update
Office hours a success; budget deadline approaching
Dear Neighbor,
I thank all the area citizens who shared their thoughts during the “office hours” event I co-hosted with Sen. Al DeKruif on Saturday.
While the regular town hall meetings we host work well, the office hours setting provided an opportunity to meet face-to-face in a more private setting. We received a wide array of viewpoints on a variety of topics and Sen. DeKruif and I both came away feeling it was a very productive day.
As you would expect, many of our conversations addressed the state budget. The fiscal year ends on Thursday, June 30 and a government shutdown would start Friday if a plan is not in place by then. Here’s a quick primer on where we are, how we got here and what the future may hold:
We face a $5 billion budget shortfall (based on a 29% projected increase in spending over the last biennium budget) for the upcoming biennium.
The Legislature in May sent the governor a budget proposal which is the largest in state history and includes a 6% increase in General Fund spending. This modest increase would allow us to erase the shortfall and fund our priorities for the next two years without raising taxes. This is accomplished by staying within the $34 billion in expected revenues over the next two years.
The Governor vetoed nine of our 10 budget bills because he is looking to spend $1.8 billion more than we expect to receive in revenue and wants to raise taxes to help pay for his additional spending.
The Legislature has continued to offer compromise since the 2011 regular session ended on May 23, including fully matching the Governor’s K-12 education funding level. We also recently offered to concede tax reductions we were seeking.
The Governor has neither accepted our latest compromises nor responded with any counteroffers of his own.
Legislative leaders and the Governor have been meeting privately each day since Friday in an attempt to reach a last-minute agreement. They are not sharing details of their discussions, but continue to indicate they are making progress.
If a budget – or a short-term “lights on” plan – is not in place by midnight on Thursday, state programs deemed non-essential will close. Important areas like schools, hospitals, and nursing homes are in jeopardy of losing their funding. Nearly 36,000 state employees could be laid off as a result.
The Governor is the only one who can call a special session and we cannot pass even a partial budget until he does so.
A government shutdown would be devastating to Minnesota and is completely unnecessary. We would like to continue to work with the Governor to prevent a shutdown and are asking him to call a special session so we can keep our state government functioning. I appreciate all the input folks are providing me on this matter and I encourage local citizens to also contact the Governor and ask him to help us avert a shutdown. There are three ways this can be accomplished:
Agree to the reasonable and responsible budget we propose (the largest in state history).
Agree to a “light’s on” bill, which would fund state government and prevent a shutdown.
Sign the specific bills in which he already agrees with the Minnesota Legislature, (K-12 education and public safety are two examples).
I appreciate your feedback and will continue to work toward a budget solution that funds our priorities and lives within the means of our taxpayers.
Warm regards,
Kelby
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