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Stage set for Pawlenty's solo budget cuts in Minn.
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ST. PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota's top finance official notified Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Thursday that the state doesn't have enough money for the next two years, a precondition to the solo budget cuts Pawlenty is expected to announce later this month.
Management and Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson said a $2.7 billion shortfall remains after Pawlenty and lawmakers enacted the two-year state budget.
In a letter to the governor, Hanson also said revenue collections are $70.3 million less than anticipated in February.
"I do not find sufficient evidence that our budget outlook for the upcoming biennium will improve with new information," Hanson said. "The national economy has worsened since the February forecast and other forecasters generally concur with this outlook."
The determination is a prerequisite to Pawlenty cutting spending on his own through a process called unallotment, an executive authority that allows him to pull back or delay payments when the state is in deficit. The next two-year budget begins on July 1.
Hanson will make the cuts with Pawlenty's approval.
The deficit remains after the Republican governor and the Democrats who control the Legislature failed to reach a budget agreement. Pawlenty vetoed a package of tax increases and payments shifts that would have covered the gap, but was passed hastily without a deal.
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Current state office holders
Governor: Tim Pawlenty
One of only a few prominent Republicans to win a competitive re-election contest in the Democratic sweep of 2006, Tim Pawlenty is widely seen as politically shrewd and naturally likable.
- Lt. Governor: Carol Molnau
- Secretary of State: Mark Ritchie
- Attorney General: Lori Swanson
- State Auditor: Rebecca Otto
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