Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Johnson is optimistic lawmakers will make session deadline
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The Minnesota legislature will only have one month to get bills signed and sent off once they return from a weeklong break for Passover and Easter. A couple of committees are working Friday to meet deadline and budget goals.
The latest economic update for the state showed an estimated $244 million more than expected but also predicted economic growth will slow down in coming years. But lawmakers are focused on original forecast models for their budget plans, Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said Friday on Morning Edition.
“There’s going to be a lot of variables going in, both on the state side and the federal side,” Johnson said, “If things change dramatically throughout the year, maybe we’ll have to take another look at that with a special session or something like that.”
This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity. To listen to the full conversation, click the player above.
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Tax revenues exceeded predictions, but there are some choppy waters ahead. How are lawmakers budgeting with an eye toward volatility?
We really have to take a look at what the forecast was and just work off of that model that we have. There’s going to be a lot of variables going in, both on the state side and the federal side, and so we’re going to set a budget that that’s appropriate to the forecast that we have and the known numbers that we do have.
And then if things, if things change dramatically throughout the year, maybe we’ll have to take another look at that with a special session or something like that, if there needs to be adjustment. But right now we’re pretty focused on the original forecast and the targets that are set in building those bills to make sure that we’re really addressing the needs of Minnesotans.
Would we follow a similar model to the one during the COVID pandemic, with a rolling budget forecast?
Well, I don’t think we will go that far quite yet. I know a lot of things are going on right now — a lot of rhetoric — but not a lot of big changes to the numbers themselves, right now.
It will take some time for that to make some effects on our revenues and expenses. When that happens, maybe we’ll have to look at a special session. But right now, I’m not thinking about that.
We’re just looking at what’s going on and building those budgets to the actual numbers that we are seeing. And so that’s the important thing, to keep your eye on the ball and not get distracted by all these other other things going on out there in the news.
A lot of people are following the Health and Human Services budget. Is there any agreement at this point about where cuts to that budget should come from?
There really isn’t. And when you look at the governor’s proposal — the governor himself shifts almost $804 million onto our counties and local taxpayers within those areas. That’s really a non-starter for us Senate Republicans.
So, we’re going to look and see if there’s other areas of just tightening up the budget, making sure that we’re being more effective. We’re going to be spending $66 billion, or around that number, in this budget. It’s about prioritizing where that money is.
And so we got to make sure that we’re taking care of those who need it the most, and then we’ll look and see if there’s areas that that we can tighten up and make sure that we’re using that money effectively.
What about setting limits on Minnesota’s universal school meal program?
We’ll go back to the effectiveness of these programs, and we’ll look and see if there are areas that we can be tightening that up. I know that school lunch program is very popular program, but it also includes meals for those who are making a million dollars or more.
And I think maybe there’s areas we can look at that, but there’s other spots that we should be looking as well, across the board on this. And actually, we had a meeting with the governor yesterday; we were talking about how we’re going to spend on capital projects across the state as well, too, and prioritizing those things, so that it all comes together and what’s going to be the best for Minnesotans going forward.
Was the ethics complaint against senate president Bobby Joe champion filed because the Rev. Jerry McAfee has been controversial in the past? Or was it something else?
This is one of those issues that you have in a part-time legislature. It’s great that we get out and we work our normal jobs. You know, I do contracting. And there’s others who are teachers, and there are others who are lawyers in the Legislature.
And we vote on bills, whether it’s an education bill or maybe it’s a bonding bill that contractors get, you know, some benefit from. But when you start naming individual groups and funding those groups that you are either working for or you expect to be working for, that crosses the line, because it’s impacting one individual and their ability to make money or have that relationship.
So, this one really is something that we’re concerned about, so we're looking into it, and we’ve got a couple of folks who filed an ethics complaint on that so we can view more what actually that relationship is.
Why file this complaint now? Could this throw a wrench into the last weeks of session?
Well, we have to do it during session. We can’t really be filing these outside of the legislative session, so it’s either now or we can’t do it until next year.
So this is the appropriate time. We’ve got those budget bills that are going to be coming past us right now, in committee and on the floor. So if we don’t check now there could be more of this going on within those bills. So let’s take a moment view and see what's going on. And if there’s any ethical violation in here, we got to stop that immediately.
Some lawmakers think they can get everything done by the deadline. What do you think?
Absolutely. Keep your fingers crossed. We’re actually at a very good pace right now, unless you know, we start hitting some some major hiccups.
I’m just being very optimistic in planning to hit those deadlines. Now, it’s a difficult one to hit, but if we can keep on this pace, I think there's a good chance that we could end on May 19. But don’t hold me to it. I’ll say it’s 50/50 right now.