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| Date: | February 29, 2012 | | Contact Name: | Susan Closmore | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-5712 | | Contact Email: | susan.closmore@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| SENATOR AMY KOCH STATEMENT ON FEBRUARY FORECAST |
St. Paul- Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter announced Wednesday that the February economic forecast shows a positive budget balance of $323 million for the current biennium (Fiscal Years 2012-13). This is $323 million more than the $876 million surplus reported in the November 2011 forecast. In accordance with current law, $5 million of that positive balance will be used to restore the state’s budget reserve to a total of $653 million and the remainder, $318 million, will be used to buy-down the school shift. Senator Amy Koch (R-Buffalo) gave the following statement in response to the February forecast.
“We received great news today on Minnesota’s economic outlook. In just over a year, Republican majorities have turned a $6.2 billion budget deficit into a $1.2 billion budget surplus. Fiscal responsibility, free enterprise and limited government have guided us as we worked to clean up 40 years of the DFL majorities’ mismanagement. With that surplus, we are now able to fully restore our budget reserves and begin buying down the school shift,” said Senator Koch. “Our work isn’t done yet. I remain committed to policies that promote private sector job growth and measures that reduce the tax burden on hardworking Minnesotans. We can and will do better for the great state of Minnesota.”
