Minnesota's budget surplus is now projected at $17.6 billion between now and June 2025, per @MMBCommunicates.
The projections will help #mnleg decide short-term spending plans and a two-year budget.
@MMBCommunicates Higher-than-expected tax collections and #mnleg's failure to strike deals in 2022 have contributed to another record surplus, which Democrats now have control over.
Initial story ahead of news conferences that start at 11:45 a.m.:
@MMBCommunicates "The current baseline forecast hinges critically on the Fed’s ability to curb inflation."
You can see how Minnesota's forecasting firm, IHS, was wildly off with its 2022 inflation prediction:
@MMBCommunicates For you Fed watchers: IHS expects the Federal Reserve will keep its target interest rate at or near 5% into early 2024:
@MMBCommunicates Minnesota's forecasting firm predicts a mild, three-quarter recession starting in the 4Q 2022 (the current quarter).
Mild because IHS projects only a slight decline in U.S. GDP + flat employment thru 2023 and 2024.
@MMBCommunicates Minnesota will save an estimated $280 million this biennium (off a $20.5 billion expectation) because of lower student counts in public schools, which are expected to continue declining.
@MMBCommunicates Minnesota is sitting on such a big pile of cash that it's making more cash as interest rates rise. That's helping fuel the surplus:
@MMBCommunicates Don't expect Minnesota's housing crunch to get better in the near term.
Housing starts, already tumbling this year, will fall further in 2023, per projections:
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@mnhealth .@mnhealth assigned 35 staffers to review grant applications and recommend awards, but failed to comply with state requirements and get conflict of interest disclosures from the people, auditors found.
This left the state open to potential fraud and abuse, auditors said.
@mnhealth .@mnhealth says the people *did* file conflict disclosures, but the agency didn't retain electronic records of them. That's been fixed, health officials say in their response to the auditor's findings.
“There is enough time,” House Speaker @melissahortman says about concerns that some of the largest bills, like health and human services, won’t get done by Sunday.
“Everybody has to get realistic,” Hortman says, and no one will get 75-80% of what they want. #mnleg
I asked which issue areas are in the worst shape.
Hortman says K-12, public safety, health and human services are “tied.”
NEWS: St. Paul Police say DFL Rep. John Thompson showed up after officers pulled over his daughter Sunday afternoon, screamed and yelled at police, identified himself as a state lawmaker and handed out his business card during a "chaotic" scene.
(Thread)
Officers say they stopped Thompson's adult daughter for erratic driving and expired registration. Cops smelled marijuana. As more officers arrived, so did Thompson.
To diffuse tensions, police say they decided to charge Thompson’s daughter out of custody and let them both go.
Police are asking the St. Paul city attorney to charge Thompson's daughter with 3rd degree DWI-test refusal, a gross misdemeanor.
Thompson does not face charges, though police say the case is open.