Unallotment is budget-balancing authority granted to the governor by state law if anticipated revenues fall short of what's needed for the remainder of a two-year budget period. It allows the governor to reduce authorized spending to bring the budget into balance.
Unallotment has been used five times in the past 30 years: by Gov. Al Quie in August 1980 ($195 million); Gov. Rudy Perpich in 1986 ($110 million); and Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2003 ($281 million), December 2008 ($271 million) and now ($2.675 billion).
Some say Pawlenty is misusing the authority, contending that it is meant to address shorter-term situations.
In the waning days of the legislative session, Pawlenty had said he would use unallotment if the DFL majorities and his administration didn't agree on how to plug a gap between 2010-11 spending authorized by the Legislature and anticipated revenues. No deal was reached.
Sources: Star Tribune news reports, House Session Weekly
