Greetings,

Legislative Report from MFT Lobbyist Julie Sabo

May 12 Summary:

Late last night, the K-12 conference committee reached agreement on the Omnibus education bill but the discussions are far from over.  It is expected that the governor will veto the bill.  The bill has no cuts to K-12 education and also does not include the $1.2 billion shift proposed by the governor.  The Governor's shift would have used education money to help balance the budget.  In the overall budget picture, this means there is a gaping hole in the state's budget.

"To tax or not to tax?" That is the big question this final week of session.  How Minnesota answers that question will impact Minneapolis teachers and students for years to come.  The answer boils down to basic math.  The last decade we have seen tax cuts and refunds during boom years, followed by spending down reserves and one-time money when times changed, all the while decreasing the per capita cost of public services.  Class size, pay increases, benefit costs, the quality of your work environment, all will be impacted by decisions being made now in state government.  We simply have much less coming in to pay for our public services than it costs to provide them.

The Governor agrees that Minnesota needs revenue.   He proposed raising it by borrowing about a billion dollars. The House voted on this proposal. It received 2 votes.  Borrowed money needs to be paid back. By whom?  With what?  Minnesota is already more than six billion dollars in debt.  Basic math, more debt doesn't move Minnesota toward solving the problem.  Education is 40% of the state budget; we will be impacted. Minnesota teachers and students are on the frontline of this budget crisis.

The House and Senate agreed to limit new revenue to the amount the Governor proposed, about one billion dollars.  Rather than borrowing it, they proposed three tax increases.  This would provide ongoing revenue until Minnesota has emerged from this budget crisis and economic downturn.  The Governor already vetoed this proposal which included a temporary top tier income tax bracket of 9%, a 30% surtax on income for high percentage credit card issuers, and a liquor sales tax increase from 2.5% to 5%.  It would have raised $586 million for E-12 education.  New revenue is important to funding education now and in the next biennium when one-time Federal money is no longer available.

Call your legislator and the governor today and tell them to support more revenue to balance this budget and prevent cuts that harm children and their education.