Minnesota Council on Foundations Blog – Philanthropy Potluck

On February 5^th, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) held a legislative briefing for the nonprofit community on the priorities for the 2010 legislative session.  All of the legislators acknowledged that 2010 would be another difficult year, particularly with a $1.2 billion budget deficit looming.  Majority and minority leaders from the Minnesota House and Senate, including House Majority Leader Tony Sertich, House Assistant Minority Leader Carol McFarlane, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Tarryl Clark, and Senate Minority Leader David Senjem, answered three questions about their hopes and predictions for the session:

1. What are the policy priorities of your caucus?
2. How do you plan to tackle the state’s short term deficit and the anticipated budget shortfall?
3. What do you want to accomplish this session?

Some key issues emerged as priorities for both sides of the political aisle:

1. General Assistance Medical Care: All of the legislators brought up the importance of coming up with a plan for GAMC that is appropriate for medical providers and GAMC enrollees.  While there are disagreements on how to solve the problem, all of the legislators agreed that addressing this issue is a priority for this session.
2. Bonding bill: The legislators anticipate the bonding bill will be presented to the governor for his approval within the first few weeks of session.  The minority leaders are wary of borrowing too much money to fund capital projects before the budget is balanced, while the majority leaders emphasized how investing in capital projects can boost job creation.
3. Government redesign: The majority and minority leaders talked about the need to govern more effectively.  This includes looking into ways government agencies can collaborate for greater efficiency.
4. Working together: The legislators stressed the importance of working together across party lines to address these issues.  They spoke of having problem-solving and civil discussions instead of polarizing arguments

While the issues of concern to the legislators were similar on both sides, the solutions for how to solve the budget shortfall were divided on party lines.  The minority leaders talked about energizing the business sector and job creation.  Representative McFarlane summed up their caucus priorities this way: “Jobs, jobs, jobs.”   They believe the focus for Minnesota’s future should be on making Minnesota an enticing environment for the business sector so that businesses see the state as a place they can grow and prosper.  They stressed the idea of revenue from job creation, not increased fees and taxes.

The majority leaders talked about taking a balanced approach to the fixing budget, not just focusing on cuts but also on revenue.  All of the majority leaders acknowledged that cuts needed to be made, but they talked about making cuts to make government more efficient, like reducing the number of out of state contracts and reducing out of state travels for elected officials, rather than cutting social services.  Senator Pogemiller stated that the legislature will begin by making cuts, and when people start to realize that the cuts will not be sufficient to balance the budget, the majority party will push for balancing the budget through revenue generation.

Marcia Avner, MCN’s Public Policy Director, brought up two ways for nonprofits to become involved in the discussion about Minnesota’s budget:

1. Invest in Minnesota is a coalition of organizations that believe raising revenue is an important part of addressing Minnesota’s budget deficit.
2. The Minnesota Participation Project encourages nonprofit organizations to become involved with the census, as the census results affect how much money the state receiving for federal programs.

Join the conversation: Many foundations understand the issues the legislature is facing this year, from making cuts in funding to re-examining the way they do their work.  What can government learn from foundations and nonprofits about addressing community issues on a reduced budget?  What can foundations and nonprofits teach government about efficiency, collaboration, and working across differences to solve problems?  In what ways have government, nonprofits, and foundations come together to work on pressing issues facing Minnesotans, and how might they come together again to address the budget deficit?

- Stephanie Jacobs, MCF member services manager

Image CC Many Highways