Highlights from today’s post-forecast pressers

After state economist Tom Stinson (pictured) dropped the new state revenue forecast numbers this morning–a $6.4 billion gross deficit, reduced to $4.6 billion by infusions of federal aid (mainly Medicaid dollars)–the chief budget players took turns holding press conferences at the Capitol: first Gov. Tim Pawlenty, then DFL leaders from both chambers of the Legislature, and finally the GOP’s House and Senate minority leaders.

Some quick points of interest:

• Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller (DFL-Minneapolis) said that state economist Tom Stinson told Sen. Richard Cohen (DFL-St.
  Paul) that today’s forecast did not include last Friday’s GDP revision
  for the fourth quarter of 2008, which saw Q4 2008 GDP shrinkage revised from -3.8 percent to -6.2 percent.
• House Minority Leader Marty Seifert said that although the net deficit is nominally smaller now than in November, the revised forecast means the state needs to find another $700-$900 million.
• Asked point-blank whether his revised budget proposal would still include the education cost shifts and tobacco bonding proposal, Pawlenty declined to answer.
• As the governor’s press conference was breaking up, I asked Department of Management and Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson how much of the $300 million in higher education cuts that Pawlenty proposed in January would have to be reinstated in light of maintenance of efforts requirement in the American Recovery and
  Reinvestment Act. "All of it," said Hanson. (This matches what House Finance Committee chair Lyndon Carlson (DFL-Crystal) told PIM in our 2/27 Weekly Report.)
• Pawlenty also deflected a question about whether his budget revisions (which he said would be completed and sent to the Legislature "in a week or two") would also balance the 2012-13 budget, as stipulated in a bill Pawlenty signed into law within the past couple of days [PIM item]. "The language of the bill is interesting," he said. "We’re evaluating how to address that, but you’ll see our response to that in the communications that we give to the Legislature. It’ll probably come in the form of some change items to the budget."
• I asked Pawlenty whether the precipitous decline in the three months between the November and February forecasts pointed to the need to order an additional forecast this year. His reply: "We do two [forecasts] a year, and I have the authority to direct another forecast should that become necessary, but that wouldn’t be our current plan." House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis) later said, "There may need to be a discussion about a future forecast, past the summer sometime."
• Kelliher said the DFL will begin producing budget proposals "within the next couple of weeks…. We’ll begin to put a budget together before we see [Pawlenty's revised budget]."