Legislative deadlines were announced on Thursday, giving us a roadmap for the session. It’s unusual for committee deadlines to be agreed to this early and a debate has begun amongst Capitol regulars as to whether the ambitious timeline will be a motivating force or leave legislators feeling hamstrung as the dates approach.  If the deadlines are met, budget and tax bills will be delivered to the Governor by May 12th, setting an aggressive pace in a year when a special session is thought to be more probable than not.  As the pace picks up we will see if the timeline can be adhered to. Those of us that enjoy spending our summers somewhere besides the Capitol building are keeping our fingers crossed that it can. Read More...

With the release of the Governor’s budget on Tuesday the real action of the 2009 session can begin.  Legislators are beginning to digest the details of the Governor’s plan to resolve the state’s $4.8 billion budget and many DFLer’s are concerned the many cuts, especially in the health and human services area, will only exacerbate the economic problem. Legislative leaders have said they will not propose their own alternative budget, but will use the Governor’s proposal as a framework. Senate Majority Leader Tarryl Clark (DFL-St. Cloud) told the media today they are waiting to see the February economic forecast before making big decisions, but she hoped they could find some “easy” things to agree to that they could pass early. Read More...

Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty today unveiled a balanced budget that “sets priorities for a better future.” The Governor’s plan focuses on strategic investments to spur job growth and improve K-12 education.

The Governor’s budget proposal for FY 2010-11 would spend $33.61 billion, a 2.2% reduction from current FY 2008-09 general fund expenditures of $34.36 billion.

The budget proposal erases a projected budget shortfall of $4.8 billion. Spending reductions and other savings total $2.5 billion while the use of federal stimulus funding and other resources provides $3.2 billion. New spending initiatives, tax cuts, and placing $250 million in the budget reserve totals $860 million. Read More...