WoMN Focus

Sen. Clark: Unallotment job losses will be felt around the state and across private and public sector

Property taxes and college tuition will rise, hospitals and nursing homes will see deeper cuts, and school districts may be forced to borrow to make ends meet under Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s unallotment proposal, according to State Senate Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud. Pawlenty announced his intentions to drastically reduce funding for aid to cities and counties, eliminate an increase to nursing homes, and to shift $1.8 billion in school funding at a press conference on Tuesday. Sen. Clark said she is very concerned that the reductions in funding will mean both private and public sector job losses throughout the state.
Unallotment is a little-used power that was put into law in 1939 that allows the governor to cut funding for state expenditures. It was originally designed to aid in fixing small, unanticipated budget deficits. The power has been used only six times in 70 years, with Pawlenty utilizing it three times. The governor’s proposed $2.7 billion unallotment is larger than all five of the previous unallotments combined, and nearly 10 times more than the largest.
“The governor is cutting jobs and increasing taxes for renters and property tax payers,” said Sen. Clark. “For the first time this year, Minnesotans are paying more in property taxes than income taxes, and it is going to get worse. We offered a fair and balanced solution and the governor decided he didn’t want to do his job and negotiate a common-sense budget, so now he’s continuing his attack on the things that make our state great.”
The governor’s proposed unallotments include:
· $300 million in Local Government Aid and County Program Aid, primarily used for local public safety and essential services.

· $1.77 billion K-12 education funding shift that may cause some schools to have to borrow to bridge funding.

· $51 million decrease to the renters’ refund program resulting in a tax increase for renters.

· $236 million reduction of health care, including eliminating the General Assistance Medical Care program, which provides health care for the sickest and poorest Minnesotans, one-and-a-half months sooner than would have happened as a result of Pawlenty’s line-item veto.

· $100 million cut to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and the University of Minnesota.

· $33 million in cuts to most state agency operating budgets.

“The governor made a decision to raise property taxes, cut local public safety, and put our schools at risk because he wasn’t willing to do his job,” said Clark. “Instead of working with the Legislature, he and his Republican legislator enablers have chosen to put more Minnesotans out of work. The governor has continued to attack the things that make our state great and put his own political ambitions ahead of the needs of Minnesotans.”

Tags: governor's race, tarryl clark

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 9:09 pm and is filed under Candidates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.