Gov. Tim Pawlenty is preparing to recommend an "all-cuts" budget remedy to the 2010 Legislature, according to all accounts from a private meeting he had with leaders of the Legislature's majority and minority caucuses Friday. But Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung made clear that the governor defines the budget problem that needs fixing as the $1.2 billion deficit forecast in December. He expects his $2.7 billion unallotment last July -- a mix of spending cuts and delays -- to be upheld in court.
Defining the problem at just $1.2 billon may not satisfy DFL legislators, particularly in the Senate, where Pawlenty's unallotment delay in school aid payments has met with its stiffest resistance. The Senate acquiesced to a so-called "school aid shift" last May only when it was tied to a tax increase that could repay schools in future years. Pawlenty vetoed the tax increase.
Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller stressed Friday that his caucus is looking for a "straight-forward, honest, genuine" proposal from Pawlenty for balancing the budget with cuts alone, one that "takes a significant bite out of the $5.4 billion" problem that's forecast for the 2012-13 state budget. That translates as no one-time accounting gimmicks and no shifts.
Pogemiller also implied that if Pawlenty proposes a no-shifts, all-cuts budget, he doubts that even legislators in the governor's own Republican party would be willing to vote for it. This being an election year, the DFLers who control the House and Senate can be expected to put GOP legislators' willingness to back their governor to the test. But DFLers should tread with caution. With Tea Party arch-conservatives on the march in the GOP, Republican legislators' willingness to vote for cuts in spending may be greater than DFLers think.
