December 10, 2002
Inside ■ Republican Win/Commentary— p. 2 ■ Accessible Winter Wear— p. 6 ■ Packaging Woes— p. 6
Mayors/One Year Later — Page 3
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“Happy Holidays.” — Access Press
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Volume 13, Number 12
SOURCES
RESOURCES
December 10, 2002
STATE FACES MASSIVE BUDGET DEFICIT by Anne Henry
W
ith the economic picture in Minnesota still very grim, the state budget deficit facing the new governor and 2003 session of the Minnesota Legislature is forecasted to be $4.5 billion ($5.5 billion with 2% inflation added in). This amounts to more than 15% of our state two-year (biennial) budget. In addition, a $356 million deficit was announced for this state fiscal year ending June 30, 2002. The Legislature and governor will likely make cuts during January to deal with the
immediate deficit. Unfortunately, this spells extremely bad news for many with disabilities who rely on state-funded programs and services such as special education, personal care assistance, home and community waiver programs, and medical assistance coverage for health care services. Over 64% of all state spending goes to education, kindergarten through high school, and health and human services funded through the Department of Human Services (DHS). Just looking at the
Pawlenty Names Goodno As Commissioner by Tim Benjamin
O
n November 20, 2002 Governor-elect Pawlenty named retiring Representative Kevin Goodno (GOP-Moorhead) as the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Rep. Goodno had been the Chair of the Health and Human Services Finance Committee (HHSFC) since the 1999 legislative session. In July of this year, Access Press reported on the retirement of our ally Kevin Goodno. Five months later, he is back in a leadership role. Many in the disability community are excited about this new appointment. Anne Henry, of MN Disability Law Center, said, “This could be the golden lining for the disability community in this time of budget deficit.” Senator Linda Berglin thinks Goodno is a good candidate because of his extensive
experience in Health and Human Services, but she has also sat across the negotiation table from him and is concerned, with the huge budget deficit, that he will cut programs to some of the more vulnerable. In the last session, though cutting the budget in excess of $2 billion, Goodno maintained many of the services that the disability community has been lobbying for over time. He watched so that PCA raises were not jeopardized. He minimized the cuts to MA-EPD by only allowing some minor changes in the premium calculations. In 2001, he very convincingly negotiated an Omnibus Health and Human Services bill, which included services to people with mental illness and expansion of community-based services for people with disabilities. Goodno
was a strong supporter of the Unlock the Waiting List campaign for persons with developmental disabilities in 1999. Although some welfare reform groups have seen Kevin Goodno as a target and have picketed his office at the Capitol, others, like Arc Minnesota and the Multiple Sclerosis Society, have awarded him Legislator of the Year honors. Goodno’s years of legislative experience with HHSFC will be invaluable when evaluating the needs of the clients served by his new department. He has promised to work with human service providers and let client needs dictate his approach to shaping private and public sector services. The governor-elect has continued to state that he will not propose new taxes as a
solution to the deficit. This means that services and supports for persons with disabilities will come under close scrutiny during the budget process. Goodno is in agreement with Pawlenty that they are not going to try to squeeze more out of the existing programs but focus on the things that work in people’s lives and improve those programs. No explanation on how this will be done without cutting services or raising taxes has been given. The Department of Human Services budget makes up more than a quarter of the total state spending and is likely to be a major target for spending cuts. Pawlenty could start by decreasing the $108,000 salary of the commissioner—Goodno will be receiving a $77,000 increase in salary from his representative stipend of $31,000. ■
DHS budget, 84% of its spending is in the areas of health care such as hospitalization, physicians, medication and continuing care services such as nursing facilities, home and community waiver services, and personal care assistance. It is important to remember that if the health care and continuing care services funded through DHS are cut at least 10%, this would equal over $600 million in state dollars, but Minnesota would also lose another $600 million in federal Medicaid match. Any cuts to Medical Assistance services must be doubled to reflect the real impact of the reduction in state funding. When examining budget balancing options for health care, the DHS can: 1. cut services (for example, limiting dental care or family support grants, etc.), 2. cut eligibility (such as lowering the financial limit for medical assistance, increasing evidence of work for MA-EPD, etc.), or 3. cut rates to providers (such as home and community services, doctors, hospitals, etc.). The Legislature has several options in dealing with the budget deficit: shift financial responsibilities, such as local government aids; cut spending; or raise revenue. Governor-elect Pawlenty has promised not to raise state taxes. The use of the tobacco endowment as part of the budget solution is under discussion and will likely be debated by the Legislature as
part of the solution. It is clear there will be significant cuts to state spending in order to resolve the budget deficit. The cuts do not have to be evenly spread across all departments and programs. Because disability services are often crucial for the daily lives of those using the services, it is important that your legislators understand the effect of service, eligibility, or rate cuts on you. This legislative session, more than ever, it will be important that your state senator and representative know who you are and what kind of state funding you benefit from. In other words, now is the time to introduce yourself or get reacquainted with your state senator and representative and let them know how the services you use assist you. You can find out how to get in touch with your state senator and representative by calling 651-296-2164 or 1800-657-3550, or using this website: www.leg.state.mn. us. During the legislative session it will be important to stay connected with disability advocacy groups in order to be informed of various budget proposals which might affect you. The Pawlenty administration will unveil their budget, including how they intend to make up the huge budget deficit, by midFebruary of 2003. It is important to take the time to contact your senator and representative now so that they are informed about the importance of the array of disability-related services funded with state dollars. ■ Anne Henry is an attorney with the MN Disability Law Center.