2002-03 Budget-Balancing Proposals: Comparison and Analysis
Minnesota’s policymakers started the 2003 Legislative
Session facing a General Fund deficit of $355.5 million for the 2002-03
biennium. Minnesota’s constitution
requires a balanced budget, so decision-makers needed to act quickly to bring
the budget back into balance before the biennium ends on June 30, 2003.
Four different approaches for resolving the deficit
arose: Governor Pawlenty’s FY 2003
Supplemental Budget proposal, the plans passed by the House and Senate, and the
Governor’s unallotment order. This document describes the components of
these four budget-balancing plans and measures them against a set of principles
for fiscal decision-making. Table 1
provides an overview of the fiscal impact of each plan.
Table 1: General Fund Changes
($ in millions – parentheses indicate negative numbers)
|
|
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
Use of Reserves and Fund Transfers
|
(83.9)
|
(240.0)
|
(212.2)
|
(250.0)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
|
Budget
Reserve
|
(23.9)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
|
Workers
Compensation Fund
|
0.0
|
(15.0)
|
(15.0)
|
(15.0)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
|
21st
Century Mineral Fund
|
(49.0)
|
(39.0)
|
0.0
|
(49.0)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
|
Transportation
refinance
|
0.0
|
(130.0)
|
(130.0)
|
(130.0)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
|
Solid Waste Fund
|
0.0
|
(11.0)
|
(11.0)
|
(11.0)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
|
HESO
SELF Loan
|
0.0
|
(30.0)
|
(30.0)
|
(30.0)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
|
State
Airports Fund
|
0.0
|
(15.0)
|
(15.0)
|
(15.0)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
|
Employee
Insurance Trust Fund
|
(11.0)
|
0.0
|
(11.2)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
Spending Changes
|
(220.0)
|
(178.2)
|
(121.9)
|
(176.8)
|
0.0
|
(306.0)
|
(8.9)
|
(511.6)
|
|
|
Education
|
(22.5)
|
(4.8)
|
(4.8)
|
(7.5)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
(14.0)
|
|
|
Higher
Education
|
(50.3)
|
(50.1)
|
(30.1)
|
(51.5)
|
0.0
|
(100.2)
|
0.0
|
(103.0)
|
|
|
Health
& Human Services
|
(25.4)
|
(38.9)
|
(53.0)
|
(45.7)
|
0.0
|
(168.5)
|
0.0
|
(297.2)
|
|
|
Environment
|
(16.0)
|
(11.4)
|
(4.9)
|
(11.4)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
(32.4)
|
|
|
Agriculture
|
(22.8)
|
(29.2)
|
(3.2)
|
(8.3)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
|
Transportation
|
(23.6)
|
(3.4)
|
(0.8)
|
(3.4)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
(5.2)
|
|
|
Judiciary
|
(18.3)
|
(13.1)
|
(6.2)
|
(12.9)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
(21.7)
|
|
|
Economic
Development
|
(18.9)
|
(9.6)
|
(2.4)
|
(9.7)
|
0.0
|
(19.0)
|
0.0
|
(19.2)
|
|
|
State
Government
|
(10.2)
|
(10.1)
|
(14.5)
|
(12.6)
|
0.0
|
(18.2)
|
(8.9)
|
(18.9)
|
|
|
Capital Projects
|
(12.1)
|
(7.6)
|
(2.0)
|
(13.9)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
Revenue Changes
|
(51.6)
|
(50.0)
|
(50.0)
|
(50.0)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
|
Delay
sales tax refunds
|
(50.0)
|
(50.0)
|
(50.0)
|
(50.0)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
|
TIF
Grants
|
(1.6)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
TOTAL
|
(355.5)
|
(468.2)
|
(384.1)
|
(476.8)
|
0.0
|
(306.0)
|
(8.9)
|
(511.6)
|
|
Balance (incl. Reserve)
|
0.0
|
+136.6
|
+52.5
|
+145.1
|
|
|
|
|
Source: Author’s analysis of House Fiscal Analysis data
Overview of Budget-Balancing Plans
The four budget-balancing proposals differ in several ways:
their total size, the degree to which they include permanent changes, and the
size and nature of spending changes.
The Governor’s FY 2003 Supplemental Budget Recommendations were released
on January 14th, and set the tone for the debate. This proposal made $468.2 million in changes
for FY 2003 and $306.0 million for 2004-05.
Use of reserves and transfers make up the largest portion of the total
proposal, with spending changes making up a significant, albeit smaller,
portion. Revenue changes are the
smallest part of the plan, and in fact, the $50.0 million savings from delaying
sales tax refunds might be better termed a timing shift, rather than an
increase in revenues. The total impact
of the Supplemental Budget proposal is larger than the $355.5 million
deficit. This recognizes that, given
the risk that actual conditions may be worse than projected in the November
2002 Forecast,[1] it is prudent
to leave a positive balance as a cushion for any additional shortfalls that may
arise before the end of the 2003 fiscal year.
The Governor’s Supplemental Budget proposal leaves a $136.6 million
balance, including the $23.9 million Budget Reserve.
The Senate was next to pass a 2002-03 budget solution. The Senate plan is smaller than the
Governor’s, making $384.1 million in FY 2003 changes. The Senate focuses on FY 2003; permanent changes are limited to
$8.9 million in cuts to the Legislature and constitutional officers.[2] As in the Governor’s plan, reserves and
transfers make up the largest part of the overall package, with spending
changes being the second largest component.
The Senate plan is more likely than the others to make changes through
timing shifts and uses of special revenues.
It also includes the delay in sales tax refunds proposed by the
Governor. The Senate plan, being
smaller than the Governor’s, leaves a smaller positive balance of $52.5
million, including the Budget Reserve.
The House proposal is similar to the Governor’s proposal for
FY 2003, but goes beyond it for 2004-05.
For FY 2003, the House plan is slightly larger than the Governor’s,
making $476.8 million in changes. Of
all plans, the House’s puts the most emphasis on making a dent in the 2004-05
deficit. The House makes $511.6 million
in permanent changes, significantly more than the Governor or Senate. In several areas, the House proposal makes
the same FY 2003 spending cuts as the Governor, but the House makes the cuts
permanent while the Governor cuts on a one-time basis. In terms of use of the three
budget-balancing tools, the House plan follows the pattern shown by the
Governor and Senate in which reserves and fund transfers are the largest piece,
spending changes second, and revenue changes making up the smallest part. The FY 2003 ending balance of $145.1 million
is slightly larger than the Governor’s.
Since the two bodies of the Legislature were unable to come
to a compromise before the February 7th deadline he had set,
Governor Pawlenty chose to use his unallotment authority to balance the
budget. The unallotment order is
modeled on the Governor’s Supplemental Budget, but is different in three main
ways, as the rules of unallotment provides a more limited set of choices.
- The unallotment order is dominated by spending changes,
instead of reserves and transfers. The
Governor can only unallot from funds with a deficit — in this case, the General
Fund. This prevented him from
implementing many of the fund transfers and the refinancing of transportation
projects that were part of his original proposal.
- The unallotment order could only balance the 2002-03
budget. The Governor could not leave a
positive balance to guard against additional shortfalls.
- The unallotment order only has an impact in FY
2003. There are no permanent changes.
In terms of
individual spending reductions, the unallotment order largely follows the
Governor’s original budget-balancing proposal, although he has added a number
of additional cuts, particularly in Education and Economic Development. It is of concern that new cuts are largely
to services for low-income and other vulnerable populations. A revised
unallotment order was released on February 24 in which some adjustments were
made, largely to reflect contractual obligations.
The plans also vary in the degree to which they meet our
budget-balancing principles, which call for deficit solutions that are
balanced, that do not put undue burden on low-income families and other
vulnerable populations, and that follow a thoughtful process that takes the
state’s needs into account. The
Governor’s original proposal and the Senate plan are closer to these principles
than the House proposal and the Governor’s unallotment order. The House and unallotment order target
programs for struggling Minnesotans for cuts, and include policy changes and
service cuts without adequate public debate.
The sections that
follow provide more detail about how each of the plans uses the three available
budget-balancing tools: use of reserves and fund transfers, spending changes,
and revenue changes.
Reserves and Transfers from Other Funds
In the 2002 Legislative Session, the deficit was largely
addressed through the use of reserves, fund transfers, and other one-time
strategies. Again this tool makes up
the largest portion of the three original plans for balancing the 2002-03
budget. The plans agree on many options
for tapping into special funds and revenue sources, including:
-
$130.0 million in construction projects to be funded
through bonding, rather than cash.
-
$15.0
million from the Workers Compensation Special Fund. This fund was created in 1999 to settle long-term claims. $250.0 million was transferred out of the
fund in the 2002 Legislative Session to help balance the General Fund budget.
-
$11.0 million from the Solid Waste Fund, which is used
for programs such as landfill cleanup and is funded by solid waste fees and
bond sales.
-
$30.0 million from the Higher Education Services Office
SELF Loan Fund. The Student Educational
Loan Fund (SELF) is a revolving loan fund for undergraduate and graduate
student loans.
-
$15.0 million from the State Airports Fund, which is
funded by the tax on aviation fuels.
In addition, the Governor and House tap into the 21st
Century Minerals Fund for $39.0 million and $49.0 million respectively. This fund was created in 1999 to finance
economic development on the Iron Range.
The Senate plan does not use resources from this fund, but does transfer
$11.2 million from the Employee Insurance Trust Fund (the Governor would allow
these funds to be expended on certain General Fund purposes). This fund pays medical insurance claims for
state employees, and is funded by premiums paid by employees and
employers. The transfer would reverse
General Fund appropriations to the Employee Insurance Trust Fund made in 1998
and 1999.
Because unallotment offers a more limited set of choices,
the unallotment order included only three transfers: $23.9 million from the
Budget Reserve (or “rainy day fund”), $49.0 million from the 21st
Century Mineral Fund and $11.0 million from the Employee Insurance Trust Fund.
Spending Changes
Specific spending reductions fall into three major
categories. Many of them are cuts in agency operating budgets. Others are cancellations of amounts that
have not yet been distributed, whether because they are likely to be unneeded
in FY 2003 or because they were scheduled to be allocated during the second
half of the fiscal year. A smaller but
significant number of spending cuts can be categorized as policy changes, such
as the Governor’s proposal to cut ethanol subsidies, the Senate’s initiative to
house short-term offenders in local jails rather than state prisons, and the
House’s eligibility and service changes to child care, health care, and other
assistance programs.
Table 2 measures the spending changes in each area as a
percentage of that area’s General Fund budget under current law. To put the spending cuts in perspective, the
2002-03 deficit of $355.5 million is 2.5% of FY 2003 General Fund spending,
although the cuts will be implemented in the during the last 5 months of the
fiscal year. The 2004-05 deficit
represents about 14% of General Fund spending for the biennium.
Table 2: FY 2003 Spending Changes as a Percentage of General Fund Budget
(parentheses indicate negative numbers)
|
|
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
Education
|
(0.4%)
|
(0.1%)
|
(0.1%)
|
(0.1%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(0.1%)
|
|
Higher Education
|
(3.6%)
|
(3.5%)
|
(2.1%)
|
(3.6%)
|
(0%)
|
(3.4%)
|
(0%)
|
(3.5%)
|
|
Health & Human Services
|
(0.7%)
|
(1.1%)
|
(1.5%)
|
(1.3%)
|
(0%)
|
(2.1%)
|
(0%)
|
(3.7%)
|
|
Environment
|
(8.9%)
|
(6.3%)
|
(2.7%)
|
(6.3%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(8.3%)
|
|
Agriculture
|
(33.9%)
|
(43.4%)
|
(4.7%)
|
(12.3%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
|
Transportation
|
(9.8%)
|
(1.4%)
|
(0.3%)
|
(1.4%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(2.8%)
|
|
Judiciary
|
(2.5%)
|
(1.8%)
|
(0.9%)
|
(1.8%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(1.4%)
|
|
Economic Development
|
(8.8%)
|
(4.5%)
|
(1.1%)
|
(4.5%)
|
(0%)
|
(4.8%)
|
(0%)
|
(4.9%)
|
|
State Government
|
(2.7%)
|
(2.7%)
|
(3.8%)
|
(3.3%)
|
(0%)
|
(2.7%)
|
(1.3%)
|
(2.8%)
|
|
Capital Projects
|
(4.1%)
|
(2.6%)
|
(0.7%)
|
(4.7%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
(0%)
|
Source: Author’s analysis of House Fiscal Analysis
data
In each issue area, the spending changes total includes
a small amount of transfers of special funds or new revenues. For example, the House plan proposes a $3.4
million reduction in the General Fund budget for transportation. Of this, $2.6 million comes from a cut in
the Met Council budget, and $750,000 comes from selling the state airplane and
transferring the proceeds to the General Fund.
In some cases, transferring special revenues simply draws down an
account balance that would not otherwise be used. In others, it means that fewer funds are available for the
specified purpose of the account.[3]
A short comparison
of the plans in each funding area is below.
Appendix 1 provides a more comprehensive list of the impact of cuts to
programs serving low- and moderate-income persons and other vulnerable
populations.[4] Spending items are arranged by the
House Committee that has jurisdiction over that program. All the spending items for a particular
state agency may not appear in the same committee. For example, although most of the cuts in the Department of
Children, Families, and Learning fall into the Education category, some are
categorized under Health & Human Services and some in Economic Development.
General Fund Changes
($ in millions – parentheses indicate negative numbers)
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
Education
|
(22.5)
|
(4.8)
|
(4.8)
|
(7.5)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
(14.0)
|
Education is the
largest part of the state’s General Fund budget, but takes the smallest
reductions in percentage terms — even under unallotment, only 0.4% of the
Education General Fund budget is cut.
The Senate and Governor’s plans are nearly identical with $4.8 million
in reductions for FY 2003, with the House slightly larger at $7.5 million. Only the House makes permanent cuts. All plans recapture reserves that are
defined as “excess” from the Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE), Community
Education, and School Readiness programs.[5]
The House proposal
cuts Adult Basic Education (ABE) services by replacing the 8% growth factor
allowed under current law to 2% in FY 2003 and future years. This growth factor was intended to
accommodate increased demand for the program, which offers participants
academic instruction to earn a high school diploma or equivalent, English as a
Second Language (ESL), citizenship, and workplace skills enhancement.
The Governor’s
unallotment order makes much larger reductions in Education than any of the
other three plans. The unallotment
order includes all the cuts the Governor previously proposed. It also includes the House proposal to cut
ABE.
The unallotment order includes a surprising 20 additional
line items that were not part of any previous budget-balancing proposal. It is alarming that the additional cuts are
concentrated on the very small part of the budget of the Department of
Children, Families, and Learning that is targeted to low-income and other
disadvantaged populations. For example, 69% of the FY 2003 allocation for After School Enrichment Grants is cut. This will affect funding for programs that
build on community resources to provide out-of-school programs for youth who
are struggling with academic success and/or have been involved with the
criminal justice system.
|
General Fund Changes
($ in millions – parentheses indicate negative
numbers)
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
Higher
Education
|
(50.3)
|
(50.1)
|
(30.1)
|
(51.5)
|
0.0
|
(100.2)
|
0.0
|
(103.0)
|
Higher Education
receives one of the biggest cuts measured in dollar amounts. The largest cuts are divided equally between
the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system ($25.0 million each under
the Governor’s and House plans, $20.0 million each under the Senate). Each plan also makes reductions in the
Higher Education Services Office (HESO), which administers financial aid.
The Senate makes
cuts only in FY 2003, while the House and Governor make permanent
reductions. The Senate also makes a
one-time appropriation of $10.0 million to the State Grant Program to cover
needs for spring and summer grants. On January 10,
2003, the HESO grant fund was frozen due to insufficient funds. In addition, HESO child care and work study
funding are no longer available due to the state grant program deficit.
These changes are
in addition to the $30.0 million transfer that all three original plans make
from the HESO SELF Loan fund.
The unallotment
order differs from the Governor’s original budget proposal in two ways: it
makes an additional cut to the Minnesota Library Information Network, and it
does not include the SELF Loan transfer.
|
General Fund Changes
($ in millions – parentheses indicate negative numbers)
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
Health &
Human Services
|
(25.4)
|
(38.9)
|
(53.0)
|
(45.7)
|
0.0
|
(168.5)
|
0.0
|
(297.2)
|
Health & Human
Services takes one of the biggest cuts in terms of dollars, although not in
terms of percentage of budget. This is
also one of the areas of largest disagreement.
The Governor proposed $38.9 million in reductions in FY 2003 and $168.5
million in FY 2004-05, covering 33 individual budget items. The House proposal contains most of the
items proposed by the Governor, plus several additional cuts for a total of $45.7
million for FY 2003 and $297.2 million in 2004-05.
The Senate makes
the largest amount of spending changes in FY 2003 at $53.0 million, but many of
these changes are from timing shifts, rather than spending cuts. The Senate delays from June to July subsidy
payments to community health boards and fee-for-service reimbursements for
inpatient and outpatient hospital services.
This has the effect of moving these payments into the next fiscal year,
leading to savings in FY 2003.
The House proposal
includes a number of policy changes to programs serving low- and
moderate-income Minnesotans, such as:
- Reducing
eligibility and increasing copayments for low- and moderate-income families
receiving Basic Sliding Fee child care assistance. The eligibility ceiling would be lowered from 75% of the
state median income (approximately 290% of the federal poverty guideline) to
250% of the federal poverty guideline.
Copayments would be increased by about 10% for most families, although
families paying the minimum amount would see their copayments double from $5 to
$10 per month.
- Repealing the
Cover All Kids legislation passed in 2001 that would provide Medical Assistance
(MA) coverage to more low-income children and families. The savings would be partially offset by the
cost of covering some of these children under MinnesotaCare, which is funded by
the Health Care Access Fund.
- Making access
to Emergency Assistance more infrequent.
Currently families may access Emergency Assistance once in a 12-month
period; this proposal would limit access to once in an 18-month period.
- Eliminating
access to a second year of post-secondary education or training for Minnesota
Family Investment Program (MFIP) participants.
- Ending MA and
MFIP eligibility for legal immigrants who are not refugees or asylees. Undocumented pregnant women would lose
prenatal and postpartum care.[6]
Another difference among the plans is to what degree they
focus on the General Fund, or whether they make changes to dedicated funding
sources that fund ongoing program commitments.
For example, only the House plan makes a net $12.8 million reduction in
2004-05 in the Health Care Access Fund, which funds the MinnesotaCare
program. These changes have no impact
on the General Fund deficit. The House
and Governor also make reductions in programs for low-income families funded by
federal TANF dollars, and direct the savings to the General Fund.
The total impact on
Health & Human Services was less under the unallotment order than the
original proposals. Under unallotment,
the Governor could not include his proposed savings from drawing down special
accounts in State Operated Services and cutting the unallocated portion of
Supportive Work Grants funded by federal TANF dollars. He also did not implement his proposal to increase surcharge revenues from nursing
facilities and intergovernmental transfers from counties with county-owned
nursing facilities and thereby increase federal Medicaid funding.
While it does not
include the serious cuts in assistance for struggling families that were
proposed by the House, the unallotment order does cut services for vulnerable
families. The unallotment order
includes reductions in nutrition counseling under the Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC) program and a delay in implementing Medical Assistance coverage
for certain services for children with autism.
As with Education,
Health & Human Services receives cuts under the unallotment order not
previously discussed as part of any budget-balancing plan, including:
-
A 36% cut to
Minnesota Economic Opportunity Grants, which provide core funding for
Minnesota’s 40 community action agencies.
This will result in cuts in the most basic services to needy families,
such as transportation, housing and shelter, senior programs, Head Start, food
shelves, and emergency services.
-
Cuts to Child
Care Service Development Grants and Child Care Facility Grants, which are used
to improve the quality of child care, recruit and train child care staff, and
develop child care services for special needs children.
|
General Fund Changes
($ in millions – parentheses indicate negative
numbers)
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
Environment
|
(16.0)
|
(11.4)
|
(4.9)
|
(11.4)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
(32.4)
|
In Environmental
spending, the House and Governor’s plans have a similar impact in FY 2003,
although only the House makes permanent changes. The Senate makes a smaller amount of FY 2003 reductions. The reductions come from programs in the
Pollution Control Agency, Office of Environmental Assistance, Minnesota Zoo,
Department of Natural Resources, and Board of Water and Soil Resources.
The House and
Governor also transfer $1.1 million in FY 2003 to the General Fund from Motor
Vehicle Transfer Fee revenues that would otherwise go to the Environmental Fund
and $2.4 million from the sales and use tax on cigarettes that would otherwise
go to the Future Resource Fund. The
Governor makes these transfers on a one-time basis; the House plan continues
the transfers until July 1, 2007. These
changes are in addition to the $11.0 million transfer that all three original
plans make from the Solid Waste Fund.
Under unallotment,
the Governor made most of the cuts he previously proposed as well as some additional
reductions. The transfers from the
Solid Waste Fund, Future Resource Fund, and Environmental Fund are not enacted.
|
General Fund Changes
($ in millions – parentheses indicate negative
numbers)
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
Agriculture
|
(22.8)
|
(29.2)
|
(3.2)
|
(8.3)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
The three original
plans vary in their impact in Agriculture, with the Senate making $3.2 million
in reductions in FY 2003, the House $8.3 million, and the Governor $29.2
million. No plan makes reductions in
2004-05.
The primary area of
disagreement is in payments to ethanol producers. The Governor proposed to cut $26.8 million from this
program. The House would make a $5.4
million reduction shared across all producers, while the Senate would only
eliminate $2.3 million in payments to a facility in St. Paul.
The unallotment
order cuts $20.1 million from ethanol subsidies, less than the Governor
originally proposed. It also includes
some new items not previously slated for cuts, including Value Added Livestock
Grants and Beaver Damage Control.
|
General Fund Changes
($ in millions – parentheses indicate negative
numbers)
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
Transportation
|
(23.6)
|
(3.4)
|
(0.8)
|
(3.4)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
(5.2)
|
Much of the state’s
funding for transportation comes from outside the General Fund. Therefore, cuts in this area are relatively
small in terms of dollars. Only the
House makes permanent cuts. All three original
plans raise $750,000 by selling the state airplane. The House and Governor also cut the Met Council Transit budget.
These reductions
are in addition to refinancing $130.0 million of transportation projects and a
$15.0 million transfer from the State Airports Fund found in all three original
plans.
Under unallotment,
the Governor eliminates $20.0 million in General Fund dollars for
transportation projects (which is not expected to delay any projects in the
near-term). He also includes proceeds
from the sale of the state airplane and cuts to both Met Council and Non-Metro
transit.
|
General Fund Changes
($ in millions – parentheses indicate negative
numbers)
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
Judiciary
|
(18.3)
|
(13.1)
|
(6.2)
|
(12.9)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
(21.7)
|
Judiciary spending
follows the pattern of the House and Governor making similar-sized cuts with
the Governor cutting only in FY 2003 and the House having an impact in 2004-05
as well, with a smaller one-time reduction from the Senate. The House and Governor would make a range of
cuts to the Supreme Court, Civil Legal Services (Legal Aid), Court of Appeals,
District Courts, Uniform Laws Commission, Board on Public Defense, Department
of Public Safety, Private Detective and Protective Agent Services Board,
Department of Human Rights, Department of Corrections, Ombudsman for Corrections,
and Sentencing Guidelines Commission.
The Senate plan
does not cut the courts, but instead focuses on the Department of
Corrections. The Senate makes policy
changes in this area, proposing that offenders with sentences of less than one
year be housed in local facilities, rather than state prisons. The proposal includes local grants to help
offset the costs of this policy.
Under unallotment,
the Governor implemented most of the cuts he originally proposed.[7] Additional cuts are made in the Department
of Public Safety related to anti-terrorism equipment and training. One service cut of particular concern in
this area is Legal Aid, which provides low-income people, the elderly, the
disabled, and children with critical civil legal services they could not
otherwise obtain.
|
General Fund Changes
($ in millions – parentheses indicate negative
numbers)
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
Economic
Development
|
(18.9)
|
(9.6)
|
(2.4)
|
(9.7)
|
0.0
|
(19.0)
|
0.0
|
(19.2)
|
The House and
Governor make similar proposals in Economic Development, while the Senate would
cut a much smaller amount in FY 2003 only.
A number of agencies are affected under all three original plans,
including the Department of Trade and Economic Development, Minnesota Housing
Finance Agency, Department of Economic Security, Minnesota Historical Society,
Department of Labor and Industry, Department of Commerce, Bureau of Mediation
Services, Minnesota Arts Board, Humanities Commission, Accountancy Board, and
Architecture Board. The House and
Governor would also make reductions to Minnesota Technology, Indian Affairs
Council, Chicano Latino Affairs Council, Council on Black Minnesotans, and
Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans.
The Senate and House proposals include $124,000 in new funding to the
Department of Economic Security to restore some of the cuts made last year to
State Services to the Blind.
These are in
addition to a $15.0 million transfer from the Workers Compensation Fund found
in all three original plans, and $39.0 million and $49.0 million in transfers
from the 21st Century Minerals Fund by the Governor and House
respectively.
The unallotment
order largely follows the Governor’s original budget proposal, except it does
not include the Workers Compensation Fund transfer. Under unallotment, the Governor also implements a number of
additional cuts of concern to low-income workers and at-risk youth, such as:
-
A $2.3 million
cut in the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership and Minnesota Pathways Program,
which provide grants to educational institutions working in partnership with
businesses to develop training programs targeted to business needs. The Pathways Program focuses on workers who
are at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines or are making the transition
from welfare to work. These programs
are part of the Department of Trade and Economic Development. (The House proposed a $1.0 million cut in
these programs.)
-
$127,000 in
cuts in the Emergency Services Program, which funds 26 emergency homeless
shelters and agencies serving the homeless.
This cut eliminates about a quarter of the FY 2003 funding, and is expected to lead
to an increase in the number of families turned away from shelters due to
insufficient space. This program is
part of the Department of Children, Families, and Learning.
-
Funding for the Youthbuild program in the Department of Economic Security is
cut by $306,000. Youthbuild assists at-risk
youth in making a successful transition to the workforce, and includes
construction skills training, work experience, job readiness, leadership
development, and basic academic skills.
It serves youth ages 16 to 24 who are high school dropouts or potential
dropouts, at risk of involvement with the juvenile justice system, chemically
dependent, disabled, homeless, teen parents, or recipients of public
assistance.
|
General Fund Changes
($ in millions – parentheses indicate negative
numbers)
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
State
Government
|
(10.2)
|
(10.1)
|
(14.5)
|
(12.6)
|
0.0
|
(18.2)
|
(8.9)
|
(18.9)
|
State Government is
the only spending area that sees permanent reductions under all three original
plans, with the Senate making the largest one-time cuts of $14.5 million in FY
2003, followed by $12.6 million by the House and $10.1 million by the
Governor. The Senate plan limits its
permanent cuts to the Legislature and constitutional officers, compared to
larger permanent cuts by the Governor and the House.
This area includes
cuts in the Legislative bodies and commissions, constitutional officers, and
state agencies including Minnesota Planning (Office of Strategic and
Long-Range Planning), the Department
of Administration, Department of Finance, Minnesota Revenue, Department of
Military Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs, Gambling Control Board, and
Minnesota Racing Commission.
The unallotment
order is similar to the original proposal from the Governor.[8] It is interesting to note that at a time
when the state is facing crucial decisions that will have an impact on every
part of the state and for years to come, the Governor cuts funding for
Legislative Television, which allows the public to better follow the
decision-making process. Neither the
House nor Senate agreed with this cut.
General Fund Changes
($ in millions – parentheses indicate negative
numbers)
|
FY 2003
|
FY 2004-05
|
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
Unallot
|
Gov.
|
Senate
|
House
|
|
Capital Projects
|
(12.1)
|
(7.6)
|
(2.0)
|
(13.9)
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
The state often
funds capital improvements, such as buildings and roads, through borrowing —
the state issues bonds and uses the proceeds to fund a capital project, then
pays off the bonds with interest over time.
The plans differ in which capital projects they would cancel and the
total impact.
Under unallotment,
the Governor makes $12.1 in capital project cancellations. Project cancellations fall into two
categories:
-
Projects
originally approved in 1999 or earlier.
Minnesota law requires the Commissioner of Finance to report each year
on capital projects that have been authorized for more than four years. Balances on such projects are normally
frozen on February 1 and cancelled on July 1, unless the Legislature acts to
reauthorize the project. Under both the
House proposal and unallotment, the point at which these projects are cancelled
is speeded up.[9] In essence, this shifts forward the savings
from these programs into FY 2003. $8.5
million of cancellations are made in this category under unallotment.
-
Projects
originally approved in 2000, 2001, and 2002.
These projects are not subject to cancellation in 2003 as described
above. In his unallotment order, the
Governor cancels $3.0 million of projects approved in 2000, $20,800 in projects
from 2001, and $591,600 in projects from 2002.
Revenue Changes
All three
plans would make $50.0 million in savings by delaying payments on certain sales
tax refunds until 90 days after an application is filed. These are mainly claims for refunds on sales
tax on capital equipment purchases, but includes all other types of sales tax
exemptions that require the sales tax to be paid at the time of purchase but
then are refunded after an application is filed. This provision does not raise new revenue so much as shift
payments into the future and by reduce the amount of interest paid.
The $50.0 million savings from sales tax refund delays is
included in the unallotment order, as is a $1.6 million cut in TIF grants (this
is the remaining balance from a expiring program set up to address rate
compression in 1997).
How Do These Plans Measure Up?
The Minnesota Budget Project uses a set of principles to
evaluate budget-balancing decisions.[10] These principles call for deficit solutions
that are balanced, that do not put undue burden on low-income families and
other vulnerable populations, and that follow a thoughtful process that takes
the state’s needs into account.
The Governor’s original proposal and the Senate plan are
closer to these principles than the House proposal and the Governor’s
unallotment order. The House and
unallotment order target programs for struggling Minnesotans for cuts, and
include policy changes and service cuts without adequate public debate.
The state’s budget-balancing decisions should not make the impact of
the recession worse for those Minnesotans least able to weather the downturn,
including low-income families, laid-off workers, and other vulnerable
populations.
The Senate largely
avoids targeting services for struggling Minnesotans for cuts, as does the
Governor in his original proposal.
These populations did less well under the unallotment order, which cut
services more severely. Particularly
in Education, the bulk of the unallotment cuts are in programs targeted to
low-income families and at-risk youth.
Another area of concern is Higher Education, where reductions are made
on top of significant cuts in 2002. It
remains to be seen whether higher tuition and less funding for financial aid
will diminish access to education and training by low-income students and
workers.
The House plan
for FY 2003 is nearly the same size as the Governor’s original proposal, but
makes significantly smaller cuts in ethanol subsidies while making larger cuts
in programs serving low-income families, and legal immigrants in
particular. For 2004-05, over half of
the total cuts in the House plan are in Health & Human Services. These cuts would have put an unacceptable
burden on vulnerable populations.
The state should
use a combination of the three primary budget-balancing tools available:
raising revenue, using reserves, and cutting spending.
The three
original plans used all three budget tools, although the revenue proposal might
be more properly classified as a timing shift.
However, given the short time span in which any tax increase would need
to be implemented, it is reasonable that revenue increases are not a large
component of the short-term budget fix.
It also should be noted that policymakers did propose smaller
revenue-raising items, such as sale of the state airplane and adjustments to special
fees. More broad-based revenue solutions
should, however, be on the table when policymakers begin to debate the 2004-05
budget.
Unfortunately,
the fact that the budget was balanced through unallotment meant that the
Governor had fewer options in terms of fund transfers, and could not raise
revenues even if he had the desire to do so.
Unallotment forces an unbalanced plan that is mainly made up of spending
changes.
Budget balancing
should be informed by current need and past budget decisions, including how
surpluses were divided between tax cuts and new spending, who benefited from
tax cuts, and how certain programs were underfunded even in times of surplus.
The size of the state’s budget deficit means that changes
in state programs are inevitable, and may involve considerable change and
reform. These changes should be made by
a process that allows for debate and public involvement. Unfortunately, the short timeline faced in
bringing the 2002-03 budget into balance made it impossible to have the kind of
thoughtful dialogue involving policymakers, frontline workers, and the persons
involved that is needed to bring about real reform. This problem was made worse by the lack of public meetings by the
Conference Committee.
Given the timing constraints, permanent policy changes
should not be part of the 2002-03 deficit solution. The place for debate on permanent changes, such as those proposed
by the House in child care, health care, and other assistance programs, is as
part of the discussion involved in passing the 2004-05 budget.
Again, unallotment is a blunt tool, and is a less desirable
process for balancing the budget.
Several service cuts were made that were not part of any previous
budget-balancing plan, and therefore were made without opportunity for input
from service providers, program participants, or the public.
Another aspect of meeting the state’s needs is providing a
sufficient budget reserve to guard against future shortfalls. While no one can accurately predict how much
reserve is needed, the $52.5 million provided by the Senate plan seems a little
small given the level of risk in the November Forecast. Since the short-term deficit was addressed
through unallotment, the state is in an even worse condition. The state’s budget will have a balance of $0
for 2002-03 after implementing the unallotment order. The Budget Reserve will also be depleted. Decision-makers will need to revisit the
2002-03 budget if the February Forecast or quarterly Economic Updates show an
additional shortfall.
Next Steps
Policymakers must quickly turn to the
larger task of passing the 2004-05 budget.
The Governor released his proposed 2004-05 budget on February 18,
which addresses the $4.2 billion 2004-05 deficit. Policymakers will also be provided with
updated deficit figures when the February Forecast is released. The Legislature will then work throughout
the spring to pass the appropriations bills that will enact the 2004-05
budget.
Decision-makers should return to the
principles outlined above. The state
faces a severe challenge that can only be met through full participation of
policymakers, persons and organizations involved in the delivery of services,
program participants, and the public.
Trying to solve this deficit through spending cuts alone would mean
reducing the budget by 14%. This would
create an unacceptable situation that would have lasting, damaging impacts on
the state’s infrastructure, economy, and communities. So far, only of two of the three budget-balancing tools have been
used. It’s time to return to the
toolbox and acknowledge that revenues must be part of the deficit solution.
This document
compares the Governor’s FY 2003 Supplemental Budget Recommendations as
introduced, House File 74, Senate File 79, and the Governor’s unallotment order
as revised February 24. Except whether
otherwise noted, the source documents for this analysis include spreadsheets,
bill summaries, and other materials from the Department of Finance and
legislative fiscal and research staff.
Click on the footnote number to
return to text.
[1] Minnesota Department of Finance,
November 2002 Economic Forecast. See also Minnesota Budget Project,
November 2002 Forecast Summary .
[2]
Constitutional officers are the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney
General, State Auditor, and Secretary of State.
[3] In this
analysis, transfers that are larger than $10 million are listed in the reserves
and transfers category, and smaller transfers and increases in special revenues
are included in the spending changes total.
[4] For a full list of all line items, see the House
Fiscal Analysis spreadsheet, HF
74 – SF 79 Budget Adjustments Comparison.
[5]In the case of ECFE and
School Readiness, these funds would otherwise have been redistributed within
the program.
[6] Undocumented
persons are already ineligible for MA and MFIP. They would remain eligible for emergency medical care including
labor and delivery.
[7] It appears
that the Governor’s unallotment authority does not allow him to make cuts to
the state court system. However, the
Courts have agreed to voluntarily make nearly all of the cuts called for in the
unallotment order.
[8] It appears
that the Governor’s unallotment authority does not allow him to cut the
Legislature’s budget, but the Legislature has agreed to make the cuts
voluntarily.
[9] A list of projects is available at www.house.leg.state.mn.us/fiscal/files/0304cuts.pdf.
[10] Principles
for State Fiscal Decisions.
Go to Appendix 1: Impact of All Proposals
to Resolve the FY 2003 Deficit
Revised February 28, 2003 |