The Taxpayers Legaue of Minnesota

By Phil Krinkie

With just one week left in the 2007 legislative session, it’s time to assess what happened during the last four months or in this case more appropriately what didn’t happen. I believe the 2007 session can best be summed up by that famous line from Paul Newman’s classic 1967 hit movie “Cool Hand Luke.” It was Strother Martin (no one remembers him), who played the warden at the prison, that uttered the memorable line: “What we’ve got here is… failure to communicate. Some men you just can’t reach.” Today these could be the same words or at least the thoughts of Governor Tim Pawlenty when thinking about the DFL legislative leaders.

With Governor Pawlenty having vetoed most of the major appropriation bills and poised to veto the tax bill one has to realize that what we have here is a failure to communicate. What part of the Governor’s message about living within our means did the DFL controlled Legislature not understand?

At the start of the Session Governor Pawlenty presented his 2008-09 budget and he made it very clear that a 9.5% spending increase above the spending level of the 06-07 budget was all that he would approve. The Legislature had flexibility between categories of spending; for example like spending a little more for health and human services and a little less for higher education than the Governor’s preference, or adjusting programs and projects within a specific budget. However, the Governor stated over and over again that total spending should not increase beyond that 9.5% target he had laid out.

Quite frankly, many believe the Governor made somewhat of a strategic mistake by proposing to spend the one time dollars, rather than propose a major property tax rebate program for 2007. That being said, the Democrats should not be surprised or particularly angry that the Governor has vetoed their spending bills given his repeated budget intent throughout the process. Did they not believe him, or did they just fail to heed the message?

No matter which one it was, the result is the same --- four months of legislative budget work down the drain, a likely special session and the possibility of a state government shutdown. Obviously, communication is a two way street, but you have to wonder what some of the legislative leadership has been thinking let alone doing. For example, on April 19, House Majority Leader Tony Sertich was quoted as saying: “It is not hard to manage this House of Representatives. We are doing good work. And we are ahead of schedule. And you can spin it however you want. But things are going along very well.”

Good work, ahead of schedule, going very well? Again, the warden in Cool Hand Luke describes the situation; “Some men you just can’t reach.”

If there is going to be a budget solution any time soon, House Majority Leader Tony Sertich and Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller will have to start listening to what Governor Pawlenty is saying instead of plotting how they can roll a few Republicans in an attempt to override a gubernatorial veto. If Pawlenty didn’t raise taxes in 2003 when Minnesota faced a $4.5 billion shortfall, it is very unlikely that he will do so now when the State has a $2 billion surplus.

One suggestion on how to achieve better communication would be to have all four legislative leaders sit down with the Governor (without the media) and agree to spending levels for each of the major finance bills. Just an idea, but it has worked in the past.