Friends and Neighbors,

The biggest news item from the State Capitol this week was that the
projected budget surplus remained well above the $2 billion mark, even
though it dropped a fraction of a percent from earlier forecasts.
Earlier this session I explained how "a fraction" in state budget
terms can actually be a huge amount of money, and that is true in this
case.  State economists lowered their surplus projection by $7 million,
which to any of us is a fortune.  But in terms of a $31.5 billion state
budget, it's relative pocket change.

How will this affect the rest of the session?  Probably not a whole
lot.  The forecast is that we will have just shy of $34 billion to
spend, and that is the number we will use to set the state budget.  The
economists warned that there is still an amount of uncertainty in the
economy (witness this week's unexpected fall in the stock market) and
we need to be prudent with spending and not leave ourselves in a tough
situation if the economy takes a sudden downturn.

Of course, the good news is that half the surplus is already in the
bank - it won't change.  I'm of the opinion that we should use that
money to fund things that result in real and immediate economic growth.
Boosting our state's economy will help prevent a sudden downturn.  We
need to even out our economic roller coaster so future generations do
not have to deal with the volatile surplus-deficit-surplus cycle we have
dealt with for the last 30 years. 

Thank you again for taking the time to read my update and stay
informed!

Sincerely,

Rep. Mike Beard
District 35A

Mike Beard
State Representative, 35A
Office (651) 296-8872
Home (952) 445-9374
Sign up for session email updates: www.house.mn/35A