On Tuesday, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released an updated budget forecast, which projects an estimated budget deficit of $2.426 billion for the 2020-2021 biennium. The updated forecast, which is used to guide consideration of spending bills at the legislature, anticipates dramatically lower revenues as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It contrasts with the February Forecast, which projected a $1.5 billion surplus before the Covid-19 pandemic. In accordance with state law, the balance of the state’s budget reserve is $2.359 billion. Senator Andrew Mathews responded to the announcement with the following statement –

“The budget deficit announcement is not a surprise, though it means we have a challenging path forward. It is yet another confirmation that we must re-open Minnesota soon. The longer our stay at home order is in place and major business sectors remain closed, the larger our deficit will be.  Allowing more people to return to their jobs and open their businesses, especially out in rural Minnesota where there are few, if any, COVID-19 cases, will benefit all Minnesotans when we begin work on the next state budget next year.”