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Jun 18, 2009 6:01 pm US/Central
Minn. Lawmakers Challenge Pawlenty Aides On Cuts
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Top lawmakers questioned the governor's legal ability to make the budget cuts on his own, using the unusual, tension filled meeting to accuse the governor of seizing authority from the legislature. (File)
CBS
Top Minnesota lawmakers on Thursday sharply challenged the legal authority of Gov. Tim Pawlenty to make $2.7 billion in budget cuts on his own.
And for the first time, Pawlenty administration officials revealed the cuts will lead to losses of between 3,000 and 11,000 jobs.
Earlier this week Pawlenty announced he will use his executive powers called unallotment to balance the budget after he and the legislature reached a budget impasse.
The governor said, by law, he doesn't need anyone's legal approval to cut the budget himself. However, he's required to "advise" the legislature about what he's doing.
Top lawmakers questioned the governor's legal ability to make the budget cuts on his own, using the unusual, tension filled meeting to accuse the governor of seizing authority from the legislature.
"I don't believe you should, nor do I believe that the statute even allows you to," said Sen. Linda Bergline, DFL-Minneapolis.
The biggest budget cuts will be to schools through a massive payment delay and top leaders accuse the governor of disguising it as a temporary shift.
"You don't want to get into a battle with the Senate on fiscal responsibility right now, trust me," Sen. Larry Pogemiller, the DFL Majority Leader, told Pawlenty's Finance Commissioner Tom Hanson.
"The Senate absolutely believes this shift is a terrible idea," said Pogemiller.
Cities also take a hit; mayors saying the effect will be fewer services and higher property taxes. That's a prediction at which administration officials scoffed.
"If anybody tells you, chairman, definitively what the property tax impacts are going to be, they're disingenuous," said Ward Einess, MN Revenue Commissioner
Meanwhile, this week Pawlenty minimized the impact of his cuts and he waved off threats of lawsuits challenging him.
"Who can ever predict litigation?" asked the governor Tuesday. "Anybody can file a lawsuit. It doesn't mean they're going to win."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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