Amendment would trim agency budgets in response to commissioner pay hikes

In 2013, the governor gained legislative approval to raise commissioner’s pay without House and Senate approval, so last week Gov. Mark Dayton announced he would.

That didn’t sit well with Republicans in the House Ways and Means Committee, who amended a bill Monday that would fill some budgetary gaps, and also reduce three agency appropriations targeting the respective commissioner’s salary.

Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) successfully offered the amendment to HF264, a bill that would fill funding gaps for the Minnesota State Hospital in St. Peter, Ebola preparedness, the Minnesota Food Assistance program, the Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Zoo.

The bill, sponsored by Committee Chair Rep. Jim Knoblach (R-St. Cloud) received committee approval and now moves to the House Floor. Sen. Richard Cohen (DFL-St. Paul) sponsors the Senate version.

The amendment would require the commissioner of management and budget to reduce 2015 General Fund appropriations by:

• $16,000 for the department of health;
• $6,000 for the department of human services, and
• $18,000 for the department of natural resources.

Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls) said the amendment targets only three of dozens of commissioners who are expected to receive pay increases and that it wasn’t fair to cut only the commissioners salaries involved in the deficiency bill.

Rep. Sarah Anderson (R-Plymouth) said the double digit salary increases were a “whammy” that came out of nowhere to legislators.

“I don’t think that there is a citizen in the state of Minnesota that expected that the [proposed] surplus money would be going toward commissioners’ salaries,” she said.

The bill was also amended to cover budget deficiencies at the Department of Natural Resources’ enforcement division and to cover the Minnesota Zoo’s losses. Those proposed funds match the numbers found in HF358, sponsored by Rep. Denny McNamara (R-Hastings), and SF174, a companion awaiting action by the full Senate.

Originally the DNR and zoo funds were included in HF264, but were removed and traveled separately so the respective committees could consider the additional funding on dual tracks, which saved time, according to Knoblach.