St. Paul- The Office of Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released their November Economic Forecast Thursday. For the current biennium, there is a $556 million projected balance. $183 million of this biennium’s balance will automatically go into the state budget reserve leaving $373 million. The projected surplus for Fiscal Years 2016-17 is $664 million. Combined with what is left from Fiscal Years 2014-15, there is $1.037 billion available in the upcoming biennium.
"A surplus is not a mandate to simply spend more. As legislators, we're charged to be good stewards of taxpayers' dollars. That means we must never forget the reality that the tax dollars sent to St. Paul come straight out of the family budgets of Minnesotans," said House Majority Leader-elect Joyce Peppin (R-Rogers). "We're here to protect the family budgets of Minnesotans and make sensible decisions with their tax dollars."
According to MMB documents released Thursday, Minnesota’s economic outlook has weakened since February and while Minnesota’s economy is expected to continue to expand, it will be at a slower pace than the national average. Furthermore, revenue projections for Fiscal Years 2016-17 released Thursday have been reduced by over $400 million since the end of the 2014 legislative session.
“While a surplus is positive news for Minnesota's budget, Minnesota families aren’t seeing a surplus in their own budgets. Today’s forecast does not show a rosy outlook for Minnesota’s economy and is a strong reminder to act with caution when making policy decisions,” said Speaker-designate Kurt Daudt (R-Crown). “We are committed to ensuring that every dollar state government has taken from Minnesotans is spent efficiently and effectively or returned to taxpayers. That hasn't be the case over the past two years. We look forward to working with Governor Dayton and Democrats on this effort over the next two years.”
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