The Minnesota legislature recently announced its maximum budget targets for the 2018-2019 biennium.
The House proposed a $599 million cut to the Health and Human Services (HHS) “base”. The base is the budget for the current biennium plus mandatory increases, e.g. to cover a projected rise in nursing home patients. The Senate version cuts the HHS base by $335 million.
Both bodies included a small increase for E-12 Education, which is where our bills reside. Much of this will probably go to additional per-pupil aid.
House and Senate leaders are currently deciding which specific cuts to make to HHS, and where they will allocate the additional education funding.
We hope these numbers represent an opening gambit and the final budget will better reflect the needs of children and Minnesotans overall.