The House and Senate are roughly $100 million apart on proposed funding for state government. And there are more than 50 policy provisions where the two sides differ.
The conference committee on the omnibus state government finance bill (HF495/SF888*) met for the first time Friday with an overview of the spending and language provisions each side is bringing to the table. No action was taken and few comments were shared by conferees, who are expected to get back together next week. Rep. Sarah Anderson (R-Plymouth) and Sen. Tom Saxhaug (DFL-Grand Rapids) sponsor the bills.
Gov. Mark Dayton’s state government funding budget calls for nearly $1.04 billion in net General Fund spending during the 2016-17 biennium. The Senate plan checks in at just over $1 billion; the House $902.66 million.
MORE: View the change item spreadsheet
Among the differences, the House plan calls for a 6.5 percent base reduction to the constitutional offices, the Senate does not. The House also reduces most state agency budgets by a small percentage; the Senate generally does not and provides a 1.8 percent compensation adjustment as requested by the governor.
As for legislative funding, the Senate seeks a 3 percent increase in its budget and no House increase; the House calls for a 5 percent reduction in both budgets and calls for one-time carryforward cancellations of approximately $7.23 million from the House, Senate and Legislative Coordinating Commission.
Policy change differences
The House has approximately three-dozen provisions that are not in the Senate bill, including changes to the Metropolitan Council, the self-described “regional policy-making body, planning agency and provider of essential services” for the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area.
The bill calls for staggered member terms, including a provision to stagger the terms of current members. Additionally, members would need to be an elected city council member, mayor or county commissioner. The chair would be elected by the other 16 members of the council, rather than appointed by the governor.
Other changes proposed by the House that are not in the Senate bill include:
MORE: See the side by side of policy changes
The approximately dozen provisions that are in the Senate bill, but not the House proposal, include: