MN State Budget Forecast

(Learfield News/St. Paul, MN) – The latest economic forecast warns soaring costs for special education and long-term care for aging Minnesotans will push the state budget into multi-billion-dollar deficits later in the decade unless lawmakers intervene.

Republicans say spending cuts in all areas of state government must be on the table.

Governor Tim Walz responds he’s not going to punish, for example, the State Patrol, the prison system, and snowplow drivers stating, “You could cut many entire agencies — in their entirety — and not make a dent… because of where the costs are on long-term care.”

But Republican Senator Eric Pratt from Prior Lake says state agencies must also be scrutinized, noting “billion dollars in fraud that has been going.”

Pratt is talking about the Feeding Our Future scandal and other problems identified by the legislative auditor.

Neither Republicans nor Democrats will speculate on ways of reducing costs for long-term care and special education.