Last Friday, the House Finance Committee (watch the video) pulled together their first supplemental budget bill, which includes spending reductions for most areas of the budget (excluding K-12 education, health and human services and taxes). In total, the bill would generate $207 million in general fund savings – the same amount as the Governor proposed to save in these areas. Here is how the House bill compares to the Governor’s budget proposal:
Housing. The Governor cuts programs in this area by $4.7 million in FY 2010-11, while the House proposes $4.9 million in reductions. The Governor and House both propose cuts to funding that preserves and improves rental housing for low-income families – the House cuts are a little higher.
Public Safety. The Governor and House both cut this area by $36 million in FY 2010-11. The House proposal includes slightly smaller funding reductions to the courts than the Governor’s proposal. The House, however, proposes larger cuts to the Department of Public Safety, but includes language minimizing reductions to services for battered women’s shelters and domestic violence programs, general crime victim programs, sexual assault victim programs, and youth intervention programs. The House also proposes slightly larger reductions to Department of Corrections than the Governor, although it preserves some funding for the Sentence to Service program that the Governor would eliminate.
Higher Education. The Governor cut this area by $53 million in FY 2010-11, while the House proposes $47 million in reductions. The House follows the Governor’s recommended cuts to the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system, although the House proposal places more restrictions on how the cuts can be made. The House proposal does not include the Governor’s reductions to the state’s work-study program, but it does eliminate the Summer Transition grant program (which funds summer classes to help students prepare for college), the Achieve Scholarship program and the 9th semester of eligibility for financial aid.
Economic Development. The Governor cut this area by $40 million in FY 2010-11, while the House proposes $5.8 million in reductions. One significant difference between the two proposals is that the House does not include the Governor’s $30 million one-time transfer from the Douglas J. Johnson Economic Protection Fund nor the $5 million transfer from the 21st Century Minerals Fund. The Governor and House proposal make reductions to many of the same workforce development programs, although the House recommends smaller cuts.
State Government. The Governor cut this area by $40 million in FY 2010-11, while the House proposes $33 million in reductions. The House proposal adopts most of the Governor’s recommended cuts to constitutional officers, state agencies and boards, although the House recommends smaller reductions to the legislature. The House also includes the Governor’s proposal to raise $20 million through increased tax compliance. However, the Governor proposes to raise $9 million through technology savings and other system-wide reforms. The House, however, only anticipates saving $2.6 million through system-wide savings. In both proposals, if that level of savings cannot be achieved on a system-wide basis, then cuts will be made to individual agency budgets.
Transportation. The Governor cut this area by $5.1 million in FY 2010-11, while the House proposes $5.6 million in reductions. As with the Governor, the bulk of the cuts are in funding for transit in the metro area and Greater Minnesota. However, it was reported that these cuts are partially offset by higher than expected revenues from the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST).
Energy (and Commerce). The Governor cut this area by $3.1 million in FY 2010-11, while the House proposes $50 million in net changes. This budget area consists mainly of the Department of Commerce and various special revenue accounts. The Governor and House recommend similar reductions to programs within the Department of Commerce. The House, however, transfers $23 million in resources from special revenue funds, including $15 million from the Assigned Risk Plan, which helps businesses obtain workers’ compensation coverage. The House also proposes a securities registration fee that would raise $25 million per year.
Environment and Natural Resources. The Governor cut programs in this area by $13 million in FY 2010-11, while the House proposes to cut $16 million. The Governor’s budget included several transfers from special revenue accounts. The House did not adopt many of these transfers, opting instead for across the board reductions to most agencies within this budget area. The exception was the Minnesota Conservation Corps, where the House did not recommend any reductions.
Cultural and Outdoor Resources. The Governor cut programs in this area by $7.8 million in FY 2010-11, while the House proposes to cut $2.5 million. The largest cuts from the Governor included eliminating all state funding for public broadcasting and the Minnesota Humanities Commission and to phase out all funding for the State Arts Board. The House recommends some smaller cuts to these areas.
Agricultural, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs. The Governor cut programs in this area by $3.9 million in FY 2010-11, the House proposes to cut $6.7 million. The House does not include the Governor’s new funding for veterans homes, but does propose a small increase to services for homeless veterans. The House does follow the Governor’s recommendations to reduce funding for many agricultural grant programs, although the House does not cut funding for county fairs and milk for food shelves. The House also proposes to delay $2.3 million in payments to ethanol providers; the Governor would delay $1.7 million in payments.
-Christina Wessel
