Gov. Tim Pawlenty and legislative leaders moved a bit closer Monday to bridging their substantial differences on closing the state's budget deficit, with Pawlenty offering a proposal that DFLers characterized as "a step forward."
Having lost a coin toss last week on who would make the first offer, Pawlenty produced a short four-point proposal on Monday: He would back off his original proposal to use $250 million from a dedicated health care fund to pay for existing health care programs, paring that to $125 million. In return, he would require of DFLers an additional $125 million in unspecified cuts.
To close a projected deficit of $936 million, Pawlenty also would use some general fund budget reserves, rejecting a DFL call to use the state's $350 million cash flow account.
Sen. Taryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, was the lawmaker who described Pawlenty's proposal as a step forward. But she also said that DFLers would have a hard time accepting any use of the Health Care Access Fund, which they say should be used exclusively to expand health care, not for budget-balancing.
The fund has a surplus of more than $500 million but would not be enough, Pawlenty said, to sustain the expansions DFLers want to make.
House Majority Leader Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, said the House remains committed to preserving the fund for its original purpose.
Late last week, Pawlenty sent leaders an eight-page list of concerns that touch on every major piece of the state's $34 billion, two-year budget.
After complaints that Pawlenty was not sufficiently "engaged" in the session, DFLers on Monday asserted that the list was overly detailed, making it seem as though they held little in common.
"Frankly, it looked like a laundry list," Clark said. "There were no priorities.
Clark called the list "over the top," saying that it made no distinction between large and small items.
Clark said she did not know when the House and Senate would make a counteroffer. The legislative session is scheduled to end May 19.
Patricia Lopez • 651-222-1288
