Today's Most Popular Video
Jun 30, 2009 5:59 pm US/Central
Pawlenty's Budget Cuts Draw Protests
MARTIGA LOHN, Associated Press Writer
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ―
-
-
A welfare rights group plans to picket the governor's residence in St. Paul. (File)
Jupiter Images
Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration on Tuesday prepared to move forward with its fix for the state budget deficit amid mounting criticism over the planned cuts and payment delays to schools, health care services and local governments.
Anger spilled over at a Capitol hearing, where Democratic lawmakers scolded top Pawlenty officials and pressed for details on job losses, property tax increases and other fallout from the budget reductions, set to begin Wednesday.
House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher said Pawlenty's use of an obscure executive power called unallotment goes too far and promised to push legislation next year to curb the authority.
"This is a move that I believe is out of step and illegal in many aspects," said Kelliher, a Minneapolis Democrat. "We will maybe never know if it isn't challenged in court."
The Republican governor is wiping out $2.7 billion in spending after the legislative session ended without a budget agreement. A 1939 state law allows Pawlenty to delay or cancel payments during a deficit without the Legislature's approval.
Unallotment has been used only a handful of times in state history.
Management and Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson said the process will begin Wednesday, the start of the state's new fiscal year. Three major state agencies -- health, revenue and human services -- will make the cuts over a 10-day period starting Wednesday, while the process begins July 10 for other state agencies.
Another round of reductions for the budget cycle's second year begins at the end of July.
Hanson stood in for Pawlenty at the hearing of the Legislative Advisory Commission, clashing with Democrats over lingering issues from the session, including Pawlenty's vetoes of legislation raising $1 billion in taxes. Democrats blamed the governor for the session ending last month without a deal.
"You didn't balance the budget," Hanson told the panel.
"You in your own testimony said we balanced it with eight minutes left," said Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, a Minneapolis Democrat.
"But it didn't get signed. That's your fault," Hanson said.
Pawlenty's plan has faced a chorus of opposition since he announced it last month.
On Tuesday, religious leaders led several hundred protesters, many dressed in black, to the Capitol from a nearby church in a demonstration against the cuts. Clergy from multiple faiths spoke, while protesters dropped off letters and flowers.
Others were exploring the possibility of suing Pawlenty over the cuts.
The head of Common Cause Minnesota, a government watchdog group, said he is considering a lawsuit over the elimination of a political contribution refund program, which gives $50 back to campaign donors if they give at least that much. The refunds end for donations made Wednesday or later.
Mike Dean, who leads the group, said the refunds limit the influence of special interests in politics and that Pawlenty is overstepping his authority by getting rid of it.
"This is an abuse of power that we think needs to be stopped," Dean said.
Kelliher said a legal challenge is most likely to come from those hit hardest by cuts to health and human services programs, such as personal care attendants who face new restrictions on hours and their disabled clients who rely on the services to live independently.
-------
Pawlenty has announced he will not seek re-election in 2010.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Letters To Santa Sent To Sex Offender?
Click to enlarge
Man Killed In Head-On Crash In Eden Prairie 51 mins ago
Stumble It!
