Source: 'It's not going to be pretty'

Posted at 10:46 AM on March 19, 2009 by Tom Scheck

I'm in St. Cloud covering Vice-President Joe Biden but wanted to pass along some information regarding the DFL House targets that will be released at 3pm.

A source with some knowledge of the targets says the cuts "are not going to be pretty." The source said DFL leadership is still working on the final details but the cuts will range from 2 percent to as high as 9 percent depending on the sector. The source said they're still working on the K12 target and that HHS cuts were in the 5 percent to 7 percent range. The source added that DFLers are keeping the targets "close to the vest" with just a few staffers knowing the full details. DFL House members spent a few hours hashing out the details of the budget plan in a private caucus last night.

The source didn't know the revenue options (tax increases) that are being considered but DFL staffers are already doing spin control preparing for criticism from Gov. Pawlenty. A DFL staffer passed out paperwork that details the revenue Gov. Pawlenty has raised in the past. It says Pawlenty's budgets have forced $2.7 billion in property tax increases from FY '03 to '09. It also says Pawlenty's Health Impact Fee (tobacco tax) raised $869 million from FY '06-FY'09 and there were $850 million in fee increases (not including the Health Impact Fee) from FY '04 -'07.

I'll post more information as it becomes available...

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