Measure increases transparency and provides full picture of Minnesota’s finances
SAINT PAUL, MN – The Senate passed legislation allowing the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget to include inflation in future state budget forecasts in a bipartisan 35-30 vote Monday. The bill provides transparency and a clear picture about Minnesota’s finances, according to chief author and Finance Committee Chair Senator John Marty (DFL-Roseville).
“If we want to create an honest and responsible budget for Minnesota, we need an honest picture of our state’s finances,” said Sen. Marty. “Just like a weather forecast, we want a budget forecast that has the most accurate information available to us, which will allow us as policymakers to make the most informed decisions possible with our budget. No business would make budget decisions based on budget projections that factor in inflation on the revenue side of their business, but not the expenditure side. Neither should state government.”
Passage of this legislation, HF 35, aligns Minnesota with the rest of the country in terms of economic forecasting: before today, Minnesota was the only state in the country where budget forecasters were told to count inflation on one side of the equation but not the other. By taking inflation into account for both revenues and expenditures, Minnesotans will have the full and transparent picture of state finances.
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