May 18

Written by:
5/18/2011 12:15 PM 

What our lobbyists and others have found during these past few weeks is a phenomenon that is quite unique to these times—so many newly-elected members of both bodies elected with what they believe to be a clear mantra of “live within our means”—that the end game compromise is nearly impossible to reach. So far, the GOP's freshman class shows few signs of backing down, even though the state may be on track for a special session or even a rare government shutdown.

Governor Dayton has been firm in his insistence that the state's rich are not paying their "fair share." Republicans—particularly the freshmen—say voters sent them to the Capitol to stand against bigger government and higher spending and state that they won't cave on their most basic principle. A position like that doesn't leave a lot of room for compromise, and finalizing a biennial budget with differing parties and positions has always been about compromise. No one side is going to get everything they want—which is why it appears we are headed to adjournment on May 23 without a balanced budget.

The Legislature and Governor are currently on the path to special session(s) by passing tax and spending bills that Governor Dayton almost surely would veto. Governor Dayton has already taken the one compromise step he believes he needs to take by cutting in half his proposal to increase income taxes on higher earners. So what happens next to the budget and the issues impacting older adult services?

The omnibus budget bill for health and human services (HHS) spending, while complete, includes some very controversial measures that are problematic for the administration—mainly in the general health care arena. Those measures, as well as the level of reductions in the bill, are very likely to “earn” the bill a veto signature. So, there will be no approved appropriations for HHS effective July 1, 2011. And while there are significant reductions to elderly waiver customized living in the omnibus bill as currently written, nursing facility reductions have been minimized—no small feat with a budget reduction target for HHS of $1.8 billion. We can only hope that the nursing facility provisions are “saved” when they open up the bill during special session to write legislation acceptable to all sides. And we can hope that if additional revenue were made available during special session negotiations, that some of the reductions to the elderly waiver program are bought back.

Of course, hoping is not enough. As soon as the next step is clearer, we will be asking that you once again talk to your legislators. They will likely be back in their home districts for an extended period of time between May 23rd and when the Governor calls them back for a special session. You will need to refresh their memories about the services you provide, the budgetary difficulties you currently experience, and the projected implications of any future reductions on your services to older adults. You may also need to take an additional step and talk about the implications of NO budget for HHS providers. We are not guaranteed that payments will continue after July 1st if there is a government shutdown, and they will need to hear that. They will need to hear that there is honor in compromise; and that they were elected not just to “live within our means” but also to get the job done, and their job was fairly clear: balance the budget. I also think they need to hear that the budget should not be balanced by cuts alone; additional revenue is needed to help cushion the impact of the budget balancing exercise.
 

Copyright ©2011 Patti