Hello from the State Capitol, Setting a state budget for the next two years is the top priority for the Minnesota Legislature. That process is now complete. The House majority has brought forward spending plans from all different sections of state government – such as transportation, higher education, environment, health and human services, and others. These proposals, some nearing 1,000 pages long, received a full floor debate, which gives all state representatives the opportunity to weigh in with their thoughts and attempt to improve the comprehensive plans if they wish. The biggest problem with this approach is that these massive budget bills often include provisions that you really like, and others that you really dislike. And in most cases the proposals you dislike are so extreme you can’t in good conscience ever support the immense legislation. The Minnesota Senate is going through a similar routine, and we are seeing that its priorities are much different than that of the House majority. Both bodies are far apart, and much work remains before we are ready to finalize a budget. In the very near future, we will have budget plans before us that will likely have eliminated the extremist, controversial, partisan proposals. Hopefully, that occurs once joint House/Senate conference committees meet and craft compromise plans that both bodies can approve. The proposals being approved by the House majority are not becoming law as-is, and I look forward to the debate when the legislation is ready for submission to the governor. Have a good weekend, Nolan |