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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Fue Lee (DFL)

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Legislative Update - October 13, 2017

Friday, October 13, 2017

Capital Investment Committee Tour

House Image

On Tuesday, October 10, the Capital Investment Committee made two stops in North Minneapolis as part of their Minneapolis area bonding tour.

We first visited the Upper Harbor Terminal Site by Dowling Ave and then the 26th Ave North connections to the park trail by Ole Olson Park.

Legislative Impasse

Here is a memo from the Speaker of the House last week:

Due to Governor Dayton's line-item veto of the Legislature's budget for FY 18-19, and MMB's failure to recognize the district court's ruling, the House of Representatives is without an ongoing appropriation for the upcoming fiscal year.

Effective October 6, the following policies will go into effect:

• no per diem
• no mileage or business travel expense reimbursement
• no communication reimbursement
• no out-of-state travel reimbursement (unless travel was previously approved by Speaker's office)
• no district travel reimbursement
• no committee budget spending

Once the pending legal issues are resolved (which we hope will occur swiftly), these policies will no longer be necessary.

However, housing, and the employer portion of insurance will be funded going forward (by using the House carry-forward funds).

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks.
Kurt

Budget Projection – Nonpartisan Staff Summary

State general fund revenues were $66 million below the forecasted amount for the first quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. 

The latest Minnesota Management & Budget (MMB) information compares actual receipts for July, August and September of 2017 to receipts projected by the February 2017 general fund forecast as adjusted by laws enacted in the 2017 session for the same period.

The net $66 million negative variance is the sum of the variances in several areas.  The chart below reflects the forecasted amount, actual revenue and the difference (dollars are in millions) for the first quarter of FY 2018. 

                                    Forecast  Actual  Difference

Individual income tax:$2,609    $2,568          - $42

Sales tax:                     1,235        1,222          -   12

Corporate income tax: 353           353                   0

Other revenues:           427           415             -   12

Total:                           $4,625    $4,558          -  $66

For the quarter (July, August, and September), MMB previously reported that general fund revenue in July was $66 million below the forecasted amount and revenue in August was $17 million above the forecasted amount. This report is for the whole first quarter of FY 2017, if the previously reported July and August numbers are backed out revenue for the month of September is $17 million below the forecasted amount.

Minnesota Management & Budget’s quarterly Economic Update is at:

https://mn.gov/mmb-stat/000/az/forecast/revenue-and-economic-update-october-2017.pdf

MMB has revised the general fund revenue for fiscal year 2017 (ending June 30, 2017). Previously MMB reported that FY 2017 general fund revenue was $104 million below the forecasted amount. The revised amount for FY 2017 is $1 million less than the forecast. Adding that amount to the amount in this report, general fund revenue for the FY 2018-19 biennium is currently $67 million (-1 - 66) below the amount forecasted in February 2017. (The FY 2017 balance carries forward into FY 2018-19.)

I encourage you to contact me with any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas on any legislative topic. Also, I am available during select hours on Monday and Friday mornings most weeks for in-district meetings, if Northside residents aren’t able to make it to the Capitol. If you would like to send me a message or set up an in-district meeting, you can reach me by phone at 651-296-4262 or by email at rep.fue.lee@house.mn. I look forward to hearing from you!