The following legislative update was written by Elaine Keefe, library lobbyist for the Minnesota Library Association (MLA) and Information Technology Educators of MN (ITEM). You can also watch Governor Dayton’s press conference here or read his press release here.

Received Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 9:54 am

A brief version of the state economic forecast was released online by Minnesota Management and Budget a few minutes ago.  A surplus of $1.037 billion is projected for the next biennium (FY 2016-17).  http://www.mn.gov/mmb/images/nov-14-forecast-summary-blurb-newsfeed.pdf

The current biennium is now forecasted to end on June 30, 2015 with a surplus of $556 million.  Under a new state law that I referenced at yesterday’s MLA Legislative committee meeting, one-third of any surplus remaining at the end of the biennium will be deposited in the state’s budget reserve.  The rest rolls forward into the next biennium, contributing to the total projected surplus of $1.037 billion.

A more detailed forecast will be released on the MMB website at 11am.

MMB officials, Governor Dayton and legislative leaders will each hold press conferences later today.  Early comments made to the media indicate that legislators have little appetite for new spending.  Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk pointed out that it will cost more the $1 billion to adjust existing spending to cover inflation, raising the possibility that some programs may face budget cuts.  I will send a followup report if anything notable is said in any of the scheduled press conferences today.

Elaine Keefe

Capitol Hill Associates
525 Park Street, Suite 310
St. Paul, MN 55103
office 651-293-0229
cell 612-590-1244
elaine@capitolhillassoc.com

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/p4m2ool, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0