Dear Neighbor,
A series of bills which will comprise the state’s new biennial budget are taking shape in the House. Here is a quick glance at some of them:
K-12 Education
House Democrats have unveiled a K-12 education finance and policy bill which will spend $15.7 billion over the next biennium. Top components include early learning childhood scholarships Republicans piloted last biennium, increasing the basic funding formula by $209 per pupil and implementing all-day kindergarten. The expansion of all-day kindergarten is not fully funded, however, forcing school districts to either subsidize these costs from other areas of their budget or increase class sizes.
Health and Human Services
The total budget would include more than $2 billion in new taxes and an overall spending increase, but $150 million would be cut from health and human services. The House majority plans to restore the void by increasing the surcharge to hospitals, taking from other funds, and growing our dependence on federal money. Questions remain regarding the stability and sustainability of these funding sources.
Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture
An Environment, Natural Resources and Ag. Finance bill includes increases in fees for large water users in Minnesota. Those who use over one million gallons per year would be subject to this increase. The largest users of surface- and ground-water in the state are municipal water departments, with farm and other types of irrigation also affected by this proposal. The increase for agricultural irrigation is fourfold in the proposed legislation.
House Democrats unveil bonding bill
House Democrats have announced their bonding recommendations, which would borrow $858 million of taxpayer money for construction projects throughout the state. Bonding bills are generally reserved for even-numbered years and this bill carries a rather high price tag. My guess is it will take a more focused bill without some of the frills to generate bipartisan support. It is worth noting the state already has $2.7 billion in authorized, but unissued, bonding debt.
Survey
If you haven’t done so already, I welcome you to participate in the legislative survey I am conducting to gain feedback on a variety of legislative issues. You can find my survey at www.house.mn/12b under “News Items” on the right side of the page.
Sincerely,
Paul