DFL wants answers!
DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller sent a letter to the governor today that requests answers to several questions. They are sending the letter today so MMB Commissioner Tom Hanson has time to gather the information.
Here are the questions
(I'll link to the letter when they send me the pdf):
1) How will your proposal affect public and private sector jobs?
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2) How many state and local employee layoffs will occur due to your proposal?
3) How many teachers will be laid off in both the K-12 and university systems?
4) How many private sector jobs within the health care industry will be terminated?
5) What impact will your proposal have on local property taxpayers at both the city and county levels?
6) Will you unallotments jeopardize any federal funds, and if so, how much loss in funds are we to expect?
7) With your use of unallotment, you have no legal authority to repay the schools without legislative action. Under what statutory authority would the final payment in FY12 school appropriation be made?
8) What impact will the K-12 cuts have on school district financing and districts currently in or near statutory operating debt?
9) Governor Pawlenty's E-12 budget bill (S.F. 836 Article 1, Section 11) recommended changes to statute 123B.75 subd. 5 to enact a property tax recognition shift. There is no authority to recognize E-12 levies early without this change. As a result, it is our understanding the Commisioner of Education does not have the authority to require school districts to recognize a portion of their levy revenues. This will leave your unallotments $600M short or require legislative action in order to make these cuts. How do you propose to make up the difference?
10) Unallotment is a one time solution. Give this fact, what is the projected shortfall for FY12-13? How are you planning to address it? Since your staff has met with various stakeholders and discussed possible unallotments, we trust you have this information already compiled and should be able to outline the impacts for legislators and the public.