Monthly Archives: May 2009

Governor says he will unallot to balance budget

***Update: read a more recent blog entry on the Governor’s decision to unallot to balance the budget for the FY 2010-11 biennium.*** The Governor held a press conference on Thursday afternoon to announce that he will use his line item … Continue reading

Posted in Budget Process | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Commonly asked questions about the last days of session

***UPDATE: We published a new post on unallotment today with more detailed information.*** As the end of session nears, there are a few questions we hear a lot. Can they pass bills on the last day of session? Yes, they … Continue reading

Posted in Budget Process | 2 Comments

A noncontroversial tax bill emerges

Another tax bill has emerged. The tax conference committee for HF 2323 has pulled a large number of tax provisions that have already been agreed to by the committee and are noncontroversial (read: don’t have a fiscal impact), and amended … Continue reading

Posted in Taxes | Comments Off

Round One of HHS runs its course…Round Two begins

The health and human services conference committee put in a marathon session on Saturday – starting at 9:30 in the morning and wrapping up around 5:30 a.m. on Mothers’ Day (I’ll admit that I gave up around 3:30 a.m.). The … Continue reading

Posted in Budget Proposals, Health Care | 2 Comments

Higher education budget proposals: Tough going

With a week left in the session, the House and Senate are still conferencing the FY 2010-11 budget for higher education. When it comes to state funding for our state’s public colleges and universities, it’s been a long dry spell.  … Continue reading

Posted in Budget Proposals | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Few small business owners would be impacted by income tax increases on high-income households

The Minnesota Department of Revenue recently crunched the numbers on how many households with small business income would be impacted by a new 4th income tax bracket for taxable income above $250,000 and found only 5.7% of households with small … Continue reading

Posted in Taxes | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Half of Minnesotans support balanced approach to the budget shortfall

Over the weekend, the Governor vetoed HF 885, a bill would increase income taxes on the highest-income earners, increase alcohol taxes, and create a new surtax on earnings from excess interest to help maintain adequate funding schools, nursing homes and … Continue reading

Posted in Budget Proposals, Education, Health Care, Taxes | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

New budget bill raises revenues to fund education and health care

Just when you thought you knew what was going on…the Legislature introduced a curve ball on Thursday afternoon. The House and Senate passed a bill, HF 885, to act as a placeholder for a combined tax, education, and health and … Continue reading

Posted in Budget Process, Budget Proposals, Education, Taxes | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Notes from Obama administration budget briefings

The Obama administration presented five telephone budget briefings today (May 7) on highlights of the President’s complete budget for fiscal year 2010, which begins October 1, 2009. In February, the President sent Congress a preliminary budget, but today the administration sent … Continue reading

Posted in Cap and Trade, Education, Federal Budget | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

E-12 House and Senate bills: worlds apart

When the E-12 conference committee met for the first time, co-chair Representative Greiling opened the meeting by going around the table and having everyone introduce themselves and say the name of their favorite book when they were little (her favorite was … Continue reading

Posted in Budget Proposals | Tagged , , | Comments Off