Under Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposed unallotments, property taxes and college tuition will rise, hospitals and nursing homes will see deeper cuts and local school districts may be forced to borrow to make ends meet.

Pawlenty announced his intentions to drastically reduce funding for aid to cities and counties, cut nursing homes, and to shift $1.8 billion in school funding at a recent press conference.

"The Legislature sent the governor a balanced budget that was fair to all Minnesotans, preserved our key priorities and made strategic budget reductions to help us weather the current fiscal storm," said Sen. Skogen. "By rejecting these offers and failing to work constructively with legislative leaders, the governor has put himself in a position to utilize his unallotment authority to unilaterally cut hundreds of millions of dollars out of the state budget. The governor decided he didn't want to do his job and negotiate a common-sense budget, so now he's continuing his attack on the things that make our state great."

Unallotment is a littleused power that was put into law in 1939 that allows the governor to cut funding for state expenditures. It was originally designed to aid in fixing small, unanticipated budget deficits.

The power has been used only six times in 70 years, with Pawlenty using it three of those times. The governor's proposed $2.7 billion unallotment is larger than all five of the previous unallotments combined, and nearly 10 times more than the largest.

The governor's proposed unallotments include:

o $300 million in Local Government Aid and County Program Aid, primarily used for local public safety and essential services;

o $1.77 billion K-12 education funding shift that may cause some schools to have to borrow to bridge funding;

o $51 million decrease to the renters' refund program, resulting in a tax increase for renters;

o $236 million reduction of health care, including eliminating the General Assistance Medical Care program, which provides health care for the sickest and poorest Minnesotans, one and a half months sooner than would have happened as a result of Pawlenty's line-item veto;

o $100 million cut to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and the University of Minnesota; and

o $33 million in cuts to most state agency operating budgets.

The cuts to aid for cities and counties are particularly troubling to Sen. Skogen. Below is the level of funding some local communities will lose as a result of the governor's proposed unallotments in 2009 and 2010.

"By threatening to cut aid to cities and counties even further, the governor's unallotment plan will undoubtedly lead to higher property taxes, reductions to local police and fire protection or closures of quality of-life amenities, such as

libraries and recreational

facilities," said Sen. Skogen. "The governor continues

his longstanding tradition of pushing the tough decisions to cities and counties so he can have his hands clean. Whether its police, fire or basic services like snowplowing, these cuts are going to have an impact on our communities."

For more information, contact Sen. Dan Skogen at sen.dan. skogen@senate.mn or 651- 296-5655.