We’ve reached the midpoint of the legislative session, and the legislature is beginning to make decisions about how to respond to the economic crisis. Today, the legislature debates their supplemental budget bill, developed over the last week or so through the conference committee process. While the conference committee process is often described as a way to resolve differences between the House and Senate, it also can provide the context for negotiations with the administration, so that the result of the conference committee will be a bill that the Governor will sign.
The Governor’s supplemental budget is often the starting point for the administration’s negotiations with the legislature. We’ve blogged frequently about the Governor’s supplemental budget since it was released last month. The Governor proposed to solve the state’s budget deficit through the use of anticipated federal funding and cuts to health care, job training, services for the disabled, and other services that struggling Minnesotans are turning to in these tough times. Our new issue brief takes a closer look at the implications of the Governor’s approach.
-Nan Madden
