Forecasters say there's a two and a half billion dollar surplus in the current budget, and the earlier projection of a 6-billion dollar deficit for 2028 and 2029 now looks to be about half that.
Erin Campbell is Commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget:
“The governor and legislature mad significant progress legislative session in reducing the projected balance, thanks to their leadership," says Campbell, "We are in a stronger place to respond to a more challenging budget situation.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz reacting to the budget news.
“Minnesota is in a position is better than when we came last time we have recognized challenges remain out over the next four years, but we’ve grow in the surplus," says Walz, "We have a historic rainy day funds and economic indicators still show growth here outpacing the national average.”
Walz says most of the challenges the state budget is facing stem from uncertainty caused by the Trump administration.
On the Republican side, lawmakers say a continued deficit in the state budget forecast is due to runaway spending, unchecked fraud, and slow economic growth hampered by billions in new taxes.
House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth.
“We did last year do a great job of cutting state spending in last session," says Demut, "but our forecast as we’ve seen does show that there’s a lot more work to do.”
Demuth says Minnesota doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.