Friends and neighbors –
It was an incredibly busy week at the capitol. The big news was that we announced a set of budget principles that will help us as we build the 2019 state budget. Gov. Walz is required to submit his budget proposal on February 19, and soon after we will receive a report from the office of Minnesota Management and Budget providing a detailed picture of the state’s finances. Once we receive that report we will be able to begin working on the finer details of our own budget proposal.
But before that happens it is important to be transparent about how we will approach our budget discussions. Gov. Walz will have his proposal, the House will have a proposal, and the Senate will offer its own proposal. There will be a lot of differences between those offers, so by unveiling these budget principles we are making it clear to you, to Gov. Walz, and to the House that we will evaluate each proposal by these terms.
I have already had a number of visits from constituents asking me to stress certain goals when putting together our budget this year. The principles we unveiled are a result of your feedback. We will soon have in-depth discussions of the issues, but a budget must at least meet these simple requirements before I will support it.
Here are our principles:
- Take care of people: The Senate majority cares about people and it will be our first principle in putting together the 2019 budget. That includes kids in childcare, students, veterans, seniors in the nursing home – and everyone in between.
- Protect the taxpayer by living within our means: We have a healthy surplus and the most robust rainy-day fund in the history of the state. There is no need to ask Minnesotans for any more tax revenue. We can take care of people without renewing the sick tax. We can make roads and bridges a priority without raising the gas tax.
- Control spending and hold government accountable: State government should not grow at an unsustainable, unreasonable rate like we have the last eight years (39% growth in the general fund). Our job is to set priorities and make the tough choices to fund them.
- Be transparent and get done on time: The Senate will move the budget through the process in a timely and transparent manner. We will introduce separate bills for each part of the budget, hold open hearings for bills so the public can keep track, and negotiate in good faith before final adjournment.
As I said, these are not intended to be comprehensive budget documents. They are merely guideposts. I would love to hear your feedback. Please feel free to email me at Sen.Bruce.Anderson@senate.mn or call me at 651-296-5981.
Talk to you again soon,