Minnesota state leaders announce budget targets

(ABC 6 News) – The Minnesota House announced an agreement on a framework for the upcoming two-year budget cycle on Saturday.

It comes as all session committee deadlines are less than two weeks away.

The agreement calls for almost $1.16 billion in reductions to General Fund spending, including $300 million in human services and $50 million in both health and workforce.

“Working in a bipartisan fashion, Democrats and Republicans in the Minnesota House were able to agree on a budget framework that responsibly slows expenditures in areas that are growing faster than the rate of inflation. This is a responsible approach that ensures budget stability now and into the future, helping to avoid dramatic cuts to essential services down the road,” co-chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL-Coon Rapids), said in a statement.

Budget targets provide House and Senate committees with a key piece as they put together their respective budget bills for the biennium that begins July 1, 2025. Differences between the bodies over how the appropriations are to be spent can then be worked out in conference committees.

Senate DFlers announced their own 2025 budget targets on Friday.

That plan would bring the biggest cuts to Health and Human Services, Taxes and Transportation and Public Safety in the next two years, with a total reduction of $754,024 in the General Fund.

In response to the Senate DFL’s plan, Senator Carla Nelson (R-Rochester) released the following statement:

“I’m deeply concerned about the direction the Senate Democrat budget targets would take us. The significant reduction in education funding ($687 million) they are setting up is especially troubling. Our students, teachers, and schools deserve better. And the proposed cuts to health and human services will fall hardest on those who most need our support: seniors, our disabled neighbors, and the most vulnerable Minnesotans.

“These are painful decisions. But they didn’t have to be.

“In 2023, when Democrats had full control of state government, they increased state spending by an unsustainable 40 percent, burned through an $18 billion surplus, and raised taxes by another $10 billion. That spending spree has now left Minnesota with a projected $6 billion shortfall. Had they been more cautious and exercised more foresight, as we pleaded with them to, we wouldn’t be facing cuts to the very people and programs that need our support the most.

“Minnesotans deserve a budget that is built on common sense and long-term thinking — a budget that puts Minnesotans first.”

A recent state budget forecast projects a $456 million surplus heading into the 2026-27 fiscal year, down $160 million from the previous estimate, according to Minnesota Management and Budget, with a nearly $6 billion deficit for the 2028-2029 biennium.