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On Thursday, attention will be on Minnesota Management & Budget as the agency releases
the November Economic Forecast. The report signals the state's economic health
and if the state can continue to afford its current levels of services to the public,
or if adjustments should be considered. "The entire state of Minnesota will be watching
that closely." Representative Lyndon Carlson, Sr. chairs
the House Ways and Means committee. On Friday, the day following the forecast
release, the committee is scheduled to get together.
"The meeting that we will hold dealing with the November Forecast is going to be mainly
informational at this point. It will be very important in the sense that we will know what
road we are on sort of speak." The committee works with House leadership
to determine how much money other committees can spend on their areas of jurisdiction.
Sometimes those spending targets have to be adjusted.
The November Economic Forecast and a more detailed report that usually comes out in
late-February, help the Ways and Means committee and leadership make informed changes.
Carlson is optimistic the November Forecast will show a positive growth in revenue, but
even if it falls short of expectations, he says no adjustments will likely be made to
the state's budget until after the February forecast is released.
"Even if it were negative, we wouldn't be responding at this point in time, we would
wait before we would make any decisions, unless something was so bleak that the governor decided
to call a special session or something, which historically has happened."
We will post Minnesota Management & Budget's presentation and reaction from caucus leaders
to the forecast on Session Daily. We also hope you join us for our live coverage
of the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the November Economic Forecast Friday beginning
at 1:55 p.m.