Minnesota Report
Thursday at 8:30 am, the media will learn the final amount projected for the remainder of the 2024-25 Budget. Back on December 6th, the amount projected was $2.4 billion, which was up $808 million from the end-of-session estimate, hence a surplus. The Governor and the legislative leaders will learn the figures earlier in the morning.
This will set the table for how much additional spending room is available, while certain voices are applying an amount of caution. MMB Commissioner Budget Erin Campbell warned of a “significant structural imbalance” but would not go as far as labeling the economic picture post 2025 as a deficit. Right now, our state is flush and setting a spending pace few other states can match.
Last session, they expended nearly all of the $17.5 billion surplus, of which $12 billion was from monies left unspent by the legislature, a sizable amount of onetime money $6 million, emanating from the federal government for COVID costs, due to a lack of a global agreement between the Senate Majority held by Republicans and the House Majority controlled by the DFL. It was clear to all capitol observers, the GOP was banking on their “trifecta” a running of the table will the governorship and the two legislative branches being in their column. Problem was it didn’t happen and in fact it went the other way giving the DFL universal authority with its own trifecta.
We will not be surprised to see a larger rise in the projected surplus, and even a softening of the money seen in the out years, but if our state is navigating the political landscape well, and Donald J Trump (R) fails in his return bid to the White House our national economy will continue to improve and the entirety of President Joe Biden’s (D) agenda will be fully implemented. The lynch-pin being whether or not the US House remains in Republican control.