Gov. Tim Pawlenty has wrangled with Democrats in the Minnesota state legislature this year to balance the state's budget, and now Pawlenty has proposed an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution that would effectively require state budgets to be deficit neutral, capping new spending in a given budget cycle at the level of revenue that the state took in during the previous cycle.
But the Minnesota Independent reports
that Pawlenty has never submitted a budget proposal that would meet
those guidelines. Which makes his proposal exactly that--a proposal for
how things should be done in the future.
As a sidenote: the 2012 GOP presidential primary field, which Pawlenty
may very well enter, seemingly demands credentials of fiscal
conservatism from anyone who dare step in. Not that that's why Pawlenty
is doing this--but it's worth noting that this amendment, as well as
his budget record, will probably come up if his credentials are
challenged.
