Minnesota

To see more state budget news and information, visit State Budgets 2012. 

Budget Background:

• Fiscal Year Begins: July 
• Frequency of Legislative Cycle: Annual
• Legislative Session for 2012: Convened January 24, 2012
• Frequency of Budget Cycle: Biennial

Learn more from the National Association of State Budget Officers

Budget News and Information: 2012

6/11/12: Strong May Sales Tax Collections Padded Minnesota's Budget

Stronger than expected sales tax collections in May helped Minnesota’s budget outperform estimates by state finance officials.

Read more: Minneapolis Star Tribune

4/27/12: Dayton Vetoes Bill That Halted State Employee Raises Without Contract Deals

Gov. Mark Dayton has vetoed a bill that would have prevented state employees from getting pay raises before their unions negotiate new contracts with the state.

Read more: Pioneer Press

4/13/12: Minnesota Lawmakers Returning to Hefty To-do List

If Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Zellers' crystal ball is clear, there's a fair chance the full House will vote on a Vikings stadium bill soon, GOP lawmakers will cut a tax-relief deal with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republicans will make a final pitch to persuade the governor to end seniority-based teacher layoffs and pump more money into schools.

Read more: St. Cloud Times

4/5/12: Dayton Vetoes GOP-Backed Bill to Reimburse Public Schools

As expected, Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a Republican-backed plan to dip into reserves to start paying back the billions of dollars owed to Minnesota's public schools, calling the plan a ploy and fiscally irresponsible.

Read more: Pioneer Press

3/29/12: GOP Lawmakers Square Off with Dayton over Education Bills

Two education-related bills by House and Senate Republicans headed toward DFL Gov. Mark Dayton appear to be facing certain vetoes.

Read more: Minnesota Public Radio

3/22/12: Budget Officials Knock GOP's Business Tax Cut Plan

Gov. Mark Dayton sent two of his commissioners to a Minnesota Senate hearing Thursday to highlight his concerns about a Republican-backed tax bill.

Read more: Minnesota Public Radio

3/16/12: House GOP Approves Payment to Schools

Republicans in the Minnesota House have passed their plan to dip into the state's rainy day fund to repay some of the money owed to public schools.

Read more: Minnesota Public Radio

3/8/12: GOP Leaders Eye New Budget Reserves to Repay Public Schools

The head of the Minnesota House and a powerful committee chairman want to drain the state’s budget reserves to help repay money owed to public schools.

Read more: Minneapolis Star Tribune

3/8/12: Legislators whip Vikings stadium bill into shape

The push for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium hit a higher gear Thursday at the State Capitol, as the project's legislation was finalized and supporters talked of holding hearings next week.

Read more: Minneapolis Star Tribune

3/3/12: Minnesota on the Mend: Recent Economic Data Point to Durable Recovery

Minnesotans got a burst of good economic news in recent weeks, providing further evidence of a rebound.  The state reported a state budget surplus last week, albeit a narrow one that's already spoken for.

Read more: Pioneer Press

Budget News and Information: Previous Budget Cycles

4/25/11: No Sign of Breakthrough as Minnesota Faces $5 Billion Deficit

With just four weeks left in the Minnesota legislative session, there's no sign that majority Republicans and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton have come any closer to solving a $5 billion budget shortfall.

Read more: Bloomberg Businessweek
 

4/15/11: Data Show Slow, Increasing Job Growth in State

New figures released Thursday show Minnesota unemployment edged down a tenth of a percentage point to a seasonally adjusted 6.6 percent in March.

Read More: St. Cloud Times
 

3/7/11: State Budget Shortfall Shrinks to $5.03 billion

An improving economy and some unexpected federal stimulus shrank Minnesota's projected budget deficit by $1.16 billion, state budget officials announced.

Read more: Twin Cities Daily Planet
 

2/7/11: Minn. Unemployment Dips to 6.6 Percent in March

New figures show Minnesota unemployment edged down a tenth of a percentage point to a seasonally adjusted 6.6 percent in March.

Read more: Brainerd Dispatch

2/7/11: Dayton to Sign Budget Bill for Minn. Farm Programs

Gov. Mark Dayton and lawmakers don't agree on a deficit fix, but that's not stopping Dayton from signing the least disputed of their budget bills into law.

Read more: Brainerd Dispatch

2/7/11: In Minn., Copper Mining Runs Afoul of Wild Rice

Wild rice is sacred to the Ojibwe of Minnesota, but that may not be enough to protect it from the promise of jobs that a new copper-nickel mining industry would bring to the state.

Read more: Brainerd Dispatch