Shutdown talk picks up

06/16/2005

Mark Brunswick and Conrad Defiebre,
Star Tribune
June 16, 2005

Minnesotans destined for state parks or roadside rests would find them closed. Applications by the working poor for the state’s medical assistance program would be suspended. People applying for new driver’s licenses would be out of luck.

Under a partial government shutdown scenario outlined Wednesday by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, citizens would feel the impact in those and many more basic services starting July 1 but would continue to be protected through such things as food inspections, services for the mentally ill, state troopers still on the highways and ramp meters remaining in operation.

Employee Relations Commissioner Cal Ludeman, though, described any shutdown as a “constitutional crisis of sorts.”

In announcing plans for the partial shutdown, Pawlenty said: “This would represent not just an inconvenience to Minnesotans but a real challenge and concern, and rightfully so.”

Gov. Tim PawlentyTom OlmscheidAssociated PressIn response to Pawlenty’s shutdown plans, Senate DFLers said they will introduce “lights-on” funding legislation today.

Such “lights-on” legislation would essentially continue state government operations at their current levels.

Earlier in the day, with a shutdown of some portions of state government looming on July 1, Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch filed papers asking a court to decide what functions are essential and would keep going in such an event.

A hearing is scheduled in Ramsey County District Court for June 29, one day before the end of the state’s fiscal year, to identify the state’s “core” functions if an agreement on state spending is not reached before then.

Hatch’s motion asks that a judge order that the core functions continue operating through July 23 or until the Legislature funds the affected appropriations.

The request is similar to one filed in 2001 after the Legislature and then-Gov. Jesse Ventura faced a potential government shutdown during a budget logjam. An agreement was reached just 20 hours before the deadline and a shutdown was averted.

Wide and deep

Unlike 2001, many state agencies already have been funded this time, such as those covered by public safety and higher education.

Agencies that have not been funded include Agriculture, the Department of Natural Resources, Human Services, Transportation, and Health. Some funding for school districts and aid to cities and counties could also be affected by a shutdown.

The state is expected to ask that such things as inspections of nursing homes, operating the Stillwater Bridge, and background checks for programs administered by the Department of Health and Department of Human Services be defined as core services. In the meantime, some other functions of government would go dark.

“We’re not trying to overly alarm people, but they need to know what to prepare for,” Pawlenty said.

According to figures released today, if a shutdown extends beyond July 14, approximately 15,700 state employees of the 24,200 working at unfunded agencies would be defined as noncritical and laid off. If the state is forced to pay out accrued sick leave, vacation time, and other benefits, it would cost the state $380 million.

Ludeman, the architect of the state’s shutdown plan, called the potential impact “wide and deep with ill effects on many taxpayers, consumers, state employees and the like.”

Who’s to blame?

Pawlenty pointedly blamed Senate DFL leaders for the budget impasse, lashing out at committee chairs Larry Pogemiller, Linda Berglin and Richard Cohen as being unwilling to negotiate and suggesting that Senate DFLers appeared to be encouraging a shutdown as part of a “cynical strategy.”

“They would rather do nothing than have to compromise in my direction,” Pawlenty said. “They’ve concluded that a shutdown would be a good political strategy.”

Pawlenty said he didn’t think he would be held primarily responsible in the event of shutdown. “I can’t sign bills that the Legislature doesn’t get to me,” he said.

Senate DFLers reacted quickly, decrying what they called Pawlenty’s “alarmist tone” and suggesting that layoffs could be avoided by passing a base budget while negotiations continue.

The measure would appropriate millions more for health and human services than Pawlenty has budgeted and millions less than any of the parties has proposed for K-12 education. But DFLers said that it would avert the pain of a shutdown while a permanent agreement is sought on funding schools.

“I would hope that the governor would take a look at it,” said Assistant Senate Majority Leader Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope. “I categorically deny that Senate Democrats are trying to shut down government or trying to make the governor look bad. We need to work together.” If a shutdown occurs, she added, “the responsibility falls on all of us.”

Hatch, who has been seen as a potential DFL opponent against Republican Pawlenty in 2006, said he has seen some differences between the days before the 2001 deadline and today. “I am struck that I can pick up rumors that there are public officials trying to weigh the politics of a government shutdown,” he said. “It is my firm belief that if there is a government shutdown, everybody in this building, including myself, ought to be severely embarrassed. It says that people can’t work together.”