More about unallotment: What Pawlenty can and can’t cut from spending on state government

Why are staffers in the judicial and legislative branches breathing a little easier than most government employees in the face of coming unallotments? Because Gov. Tim Pawlenty can’t do funding unallotments in those areas.

The state’s constitutional officers–governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, and attorney general–are a different matter. Spending on these offices can be cut as long as the reductions don’t force a transfer of their respective duties to other departments, which would violate state constitutional separation of powers requirements.

Here’s the relevant passage of the House Research paper on unallotments: