A Tale Of Two Very Different States Part 2

Back in July, I took a look at how Minnesota and Utah differed vis a vis the economic downturn. Now I would like to take a look at the methods each legislature has used in handling their deficits.

First a quick reminder - both states have Constitutional mandates to operate under a balanced budget.

Now the Utah legislature spent the "good times" wisely setting aside money "just in case" lean times came....

Utah typically is ranked among the nation's best-managed states, and the Legislature deserves some credit for this. During the last session, lawmakers saw economic storm clouds on the horizon and made provisions. They appropriated $100 million for public schools that was not to be spent. It was set aside in case of a shortfall. They piled extra cash into the state's Rainy Day Fund, and they decided to pay for highway and capital needs with cash, leaving untapped bonding capacity in place for hard times.

Unlike their Minnesota counterparts, who spent like drunken sailors on shore leave, in spite of calls for restraint.

The differences do not stop there. Once the deficits were apparent (last spring and summer), the Utah Legislature was called to a special session so that they could start working on a resolution to their budget woes. Committees met and ideas brought forward in the two day session. After the special session ended, sober minded Legislators hit the campaign trail talking about the need to make painful cuts to state budgets.

On January 26 (the start of the 2009 Legislative session) the Utah Legislature hit the ground running. BOTH parties got together and by February 2 the House, the Senate and the Governor had agreed on a budget deal. The Minnesota Legislature, on the other hand.....

It happened again Thursday. The Minnesota House was meeting in full session, running through some routine business, when Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, rose, cleared his throat and said to DFLers, "We've been here a month; why are we still waiting for your budget proposal?''

The Minnesota Legislature has been in session since January 6 and as of today there is still NO BUDGET PROPOSAL IN SIGHT!! Speaker Kelliher's excuse?

"We don't even have complete drafts of his bill yet,'' he said. "When we get the full proposal, we will work off what he has. You see what's doable and where there might be disagreement.''

Kelliher notes that the governor had all of the state's commissioners and finance experts working on the budget for months. The Legislature does not have those resources.

"He's had 7½ months. It's unrealistic to expect us to respond in just a few days,'' she said.

In the same 7 1/2 months that the governor spent putting together his budget proposals, the DFL majorities in the MN House and Senate were doing what exactly? My friend Gary Gross has the answer....

All summer long, DFL committee chairs held hearing after hearing. They got reports saying that the economy was getting worse. As far back as prior to the national conventions, legislators were being told that the deficit could hit $4,000,000,000. Instead of working on putting together a budget that would deal with the deficit, Democrats just ran up big per diem bills.

They had access to the same government employees and data that the Governor has. They have the power to summon the Governor's commissioners to come testify, but instead they ran around the state holding "meetings" and charging the bill to a budget that was already deeply in the red. That is not to say all Minnesota legislators were waiting for someone else to do the work. Back to my friend Gary....

Here’s a joint statement released by Senate GOP Communications Director Michael Brodkorb (ed - yes that Michael Brodkorb) and House GOP Communications Director Kevin Watterson on one of the GOP’s reform proposals:

(St. Paul) – Responding to the likelihood that Minnesota budget deficit will be close to $7 billion, Republican members of the Minnesota House and Senate announced a legislative proposal today to cut the pay of legislators and constitutional officers by 5 percent.

If enacted into law, the base pay for legislators would drop from their current amounts to $29,583 per-year, with the estimated total savings per biennium of $676,441.20. [Please see the attached table for salary information for legislators and constitutional officers.]

“At a time when the budget deficit is growing larger by the minute, legislators need to set an example in St. Paul by cutting their own compensation and that of constitutional officers,” said Senator Geoff Michel (R-Edina). “The legislative branch must be part of the budget solution and before we go through the entire state budget, line by line, we should find savings in our own budget.”

Currently, Minnesota statutes (15A.082) establishes a 16-member Compensation Council to provide salary recommendations for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, Attorney General, and legislators. The Legislature can adopt these recommendations, adopt with modifications (such as a percentage), or
establish altogether different rates.

While the constitutional officer salary is a percentage of the Governor’s pay, this bill makes individual salaries independent. This bill also provides transparency to the public by placing actual compensation amounts in law.

“This plan should absolutely be part of the discussions that take place around Minnesota over the next two weeks. Legislators have to be willing to step up and show leadership in doing what it will take to balance the budget,” said Representative Dan Severson (R-Sauk Rapids). “If we’re not willing to put ourselves and our salaries up for debate, then we won’t have a lot of credibility among the people we hear from during these meetings.”

It is clear that serious legislators can find a way to get the job done for the people....it's just a pity that in the case of Minnesota, the majority leadership has decided that it is more important for them to court their special interests groups than it is to do the PEOPLES business.

From: Gene Pelowski [mailto:Rep.Gene.Pelowski@house.mn]
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 10:13 AM
This Friday, February 20, there will be a bicameral hearing held in our region. Senators and Representatives from both political parties will be in Winona from 3:30 to 5:30 PM, Winona City Hall, 207 Lafayette St. The purpose of this hearing is to get testimony from affected programs in every level of government, education, health care or service impacted by the cuts suggested by the Governor’s state budget.

I am writing you to ask that you or a designee get scheduled to testify. You may do this by going to the House website at www.house.mn and clicking on “Town Meetings”.

We would ask you to focus your comments on the impact of the Governor’s budget including what is the harm to your area of government or program. Please be as precise as possible using facts such as number of lay offs, increases in property taxes, cuts in services, increases in tuition, elimination of programs. To be respectful of the time necessary to hear from a large number of constituents it would be advised to use no more than 3-5 minutes to convey your message. If you choose to provide handouts or printed materials, please plan to bring approximately 25 copies, enough for committee members and media.

Sincerely,
Representative Gene Pelowski
District 31A

Emphasis mine....