After weeks of endless whinging from the DFL (“where is the GOP’s budget? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?”), the GOP Senate Caucus released its budget targets…
…weeks and weeks earlier than the DFL majorities did in the past two biennia.
Here’s the press release:
Leaders of the Senate Republican Majority Caucus have announced their budget targets for their forthcoming proposal to solve the state’s budget deficit. The overall budget spending level is set at roughly $34 billion for the 2012-13 biennial budget.
“Our caucus is committed to living within our means and not raising taxes,” said Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (R-Buffalo).
The targets announced by the Senate Republican Majority protect funding levels for education, health and human services and increases funding for the judiciary.
“These targets protect the core constitutional requirements of state government. However, we absolutely have to scale back in the projected growth and spending,” said Senator Claire Robling (R-Jordan).
“These are appropriate spending levels for 21st Century state government,” said Deputy Majority Leader Geoff Michel (R-Edina).
Scraaaaaaaaaatch
Wait – Geoff Michel?
I thought the GOP was ruthlessly excising dissenters? That’s what the DFL says!
Of course, they also have spent the last two months chanting about an “all-cuts budget”.
I guess everything the DFL says is suspect, huh?
Back to the presser:
“We will be incorporating substantial, real reform measures in our budget package to meet these budget targets. It is imperative that we reform and change the way government operates in order to contain runaway, autopilot spending increases and grow the economy.”
Moving forward, Senate Committees will continue hearing bills in a timely manner in order to meet the earliest committee deadlines in recent history. March 25 is the final date for finance committees and divisions to report appropriations bills. April 29th is set as the final date for committees to act favorable on bills in their house of origin and May 6th is the final date to advance bills or companions of bills that met the first deadline in the other house.
Here’s the big chart; today’s targets are blue, Dayton’s “Dustbowl” budget is red:
| Adjusted FY 2010-2011 (with Stimulus & Edu Shifts) | FY 2012-2013 Proposed Spending – Feb. Forecast | FY 2012-2013 Senate Proposed Spending Change | FY 2012-2013 from Adjusted FY 2010-2011 | Governor Dayton Proposed Spending* | |
| Education | $13,812,526 | $14,321,912 | $14,297,039 | 3.5% | $14,382,958 |
| Education Shifts | $1,301,683 | ($138,975) | ($138,632) | ||
| Education Net | $13,812,526 | $15,623,595 | $14,158,064 | 2.5% | $14,244,326 |
| Higher Education | $2,982,217 | $2,916,580 | $2,505,518 | -16.0% | $2,745,672 |
| Health & Human Services | $10,141,672 | $12,337,837 | $10,737,837 | 5.9% | $12,189,349 |
| Agriculture & Rural Economies | $86,727 | $89,396 | $76,841 | -11.4% | $78,162 |
| Environment, Energy, Commerce | $312,018 | $293,463 | $221,463 | -29.0% | $268,314 |
| Jobs & Economic Growth $ | 195,430 | $168,246 | $103,246 |
-47.2% | $166,822 |
| Transportation | $167,036 | $180,158 | $140,158 | -16.1% | $177,804 |
| Judiciary & Public Safety | $1,858,125 | $1,782,650 | $1,792,650 | -3.5% $ | 1,821,988 |
| State Government Innovation & Veterans | $884,330 | $912,922 | $412,922 | -53.3% | $916,721 |
| Tax Aids & Credits Spending | $3,018,752 | $3,507,726 | $2,727,726 | -9.6% | $3,507,934 |
| Debt Service, Capital Projects, Cancellations | $867,116 $ | 1,208,994 | $1,148,994 |
32.5% | $1,175,525 |
| Other/Reserves | $274,665 | $242,262 | $138,665 | ||
| Total General Fund Spending | $34,600,614 | $39,021,567 | $34,267,681 | -1.0% | $37,431,282 |
You’ll note that it’s not an “all cuts” budget – the DFL meme that the compliant media has been going along and using for the past two months. The Tea Party would have liked to have seen some cuts – but the important part is, the budget lives within the government’s forecast revenue.
The other important part? This is just the beginning. Our government, as Amy Koch pointed out in her statement, needs to get away from its current funding model, with its “autopilot” spending increases.
King Banaian’s bill, HF2, will be a big next step on that. As we get into the budget brouhaha, we’ll need people to start keeping the pressure up on their Reps and Senators to push this bill along – or we’ll just be repeating this past three biennia, with automatic forecasts being turned into bloated budgets and absurd deficits.
There’s plenty of work to do, here.
Those evil Republicans are cutting 1.0% from the general fund? Children and old people will be dying in the street. It’s time to march on St. Paul.
Let me rephrase.
Those Republicans are only cutting 1.0% from the general fund?! It’s time to march on St. Paul.
You guys get the torches! I’ll bring the pitchforks!
And the bloated, corpulent EduMinn the Hutt bottomless pit continues to grow? While over at the Strib there’s an article about “Anoka-Hennepin teachers reject merit pay program”.
And to truly bring a smile to your tear-stained cheeks, another Strib headline says “Dayton: “We’re not Wisconsin”.
Yeah, we can only wish we were.
The Left’s Screed is as follows:
A) This whole debate about being out of money is a deceit. The government is sitting on a pot of money they’re not doing anything with. They’re simply waiting for the right time to disperse it to the people and tell everyone this whole fiscal crisis was a cruel joke.
B) When you factor in tax increases to account for the deficit, there is no crisis. We haven’t overspent – we’ve undertaxed. We can balance the budget if we get the rich to bail us out.
No one has to go without who cannot afford to do so. The laws of economics are on our side. We CAN have our cake, eat it and smoke a doobie at the same time.
The Right is manufacturing this stuff.
I’m impressed, percentages match my expectations pretty closely. Book it, Danno.
baby steps people baby steps. 15% cut from what the DFL usually proposes (a 1% decrease instead of a 14% increase).
This budget is constitutional, enacted by the People’s representatives.
I imagine that any minute now RickDFL will log in and confirm that that is all that is required for a law to be properly and correctly put in place.
I wouldn’t hold my breath, though.