Local officials, legislators prepare for new state session

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Minnesota’s lawmakers will convene in St. Paul tomorrow under an increasingly rare set of circumstances for any arm of government: A modest budget surplus.

But the philosophical divide over borrowing will complicate efforts to craft an agreeable bonding bill. Also on the docket is Vikings stadium financing — but one fact looms over the session.

His suggestion was fundamental to the mandates themselves, which are essentially state guidelines with a similar force to law
“It would be helpful for the legislators to figure out what they want government to do,” Weiers said. “(To have) a thoughtful discussion about the government’s role and how we carry those things out.”

More than 85 percent of Rice County’s activity is mandated by the state — and after trimming staff consistently for nearly four years, resources are now strained because while mandates remain in place, funding does not.

Faribault’s legislators, Sen. Mike Parry (R-Waseca) and Rep. Patti Fritz (DFL-Faribault) both support mandate reform, though at markedly different levels. Fritz made a point at a recent meeting with county officials that there are mandates, laws and guidelines that are in place to protect citizens, and some need to stay.

Streamlining government operations, eliminating mandates and freeing business from regulation to spur growth is the cornerstone of Parry’s legislative platform:

“We’re trying to do the right things to make sure we give them some of the mandate releases,” Parry said. “(We) also want to try to pull the state out of their business as much as possible, and that’s what I hope we can try to accomplish.”

Fritz is championing Gov. Mark Dayton’s bonding bill, which includes major projects at the Minnesota State Academies and South Central College in Faribault, as a primary engine for growth.

Parry stressed the need for government to live within its means, but shared enthusiasm for his bills, many of which were related to veterans and government streamlining.

Fritz did not return calls for comment on Monday.

Both Fritz and Parry will likely play a role in specific pieces of legislation this session, but much will likely ride on what direction legislators choose to take deliberations.

There are obvious differences between the last two legislative sessions. Last time, a $5 billion deficit was a gargantuan problem to solve. In 2012, there is a projected $876 million surplus, which by law is destined for rainy-day accounts depleted by past budget fixes.

Even if a late-February economic forecast improves the balance sheet, schools are next in line to have state IOUs repaid.
And that would please Faribault Superintendent Todd Sesker.

“Certainly borrowing is an issue,” Sesker said of the $3 billion the state has borrowed against schools statewide to bridge budget gaps. “We want that back.”

More fundamentally, Sesker wants an “equitable, adequate and stable” funding picture for state schools. Much like cities, budget uncertainty strains staff and resources. But how schools are funded rivals the sheer dollar amounts involved.

“There should not be winners and losers for kids financing,” Sesker said. “Certainly our educational needs are different from (other schools), but consistency is important.”

Many of the city, county and school concerns kept coming back to the need for simple improvements in local infrastructure and state efficiency. That’s also a focus of state efforts to jumpstart the economy.

Gov. Mark Dayton and top lawmakers from both parties enter the session with a common mission: Put 175,000 unemployed Minnesotans back to work. All sides talk about giving tax breaks, streamlining business permitting and easing regulations as ways to jolt the job market, but they aren’t on the same page about how far to go.

Dayton wants to entice companies to add to payrolls with tax credits — but he’s counting on Republicans agreeing to end certain corporate tax preferences the governor regards as loopholes to pay for the package. For their part, Republicans are pushing to give businesses property tax cuts while Democrats contend homeowners deserve relief first.

Despite long-held Democratic resistance, GOP leaders also envision things like big cuts in state government payroll and an end to wage protections for publicly financed construction projects.

House Speaker Kurt Zellers says it’s the perfect time to stage government for the future rather than doing it in “triage mode” while coping with what had become perpetual deficits.

But all 201 legislative seats are on the line in the fall, which may motivate both sides to make progress during the session. And because of once-a-decade redistricting, many incumbents will be running in reconfigured districts with fresh territory and new constituents.

— Joseph Lindberg covers the city and county for the Daily News. He may be reached at 333-3135. Or at Twitter.com @JosephLindberg. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Ashley Peterson of the Owatonna People’s Press also contributed to this report.