Prospect of unallotment lawsuits dims

When Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced his plan to balance the state budget through unilateral cuts applied under Minnesota’s emergency budget-cutting statute, the buzz about possible litigation was a leading source of speculation–and more than a few privately uttered threats–at the Capitol complex. But in the ensuing month-plus, all that talk has quietly but steadily fallen off.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis), who has probably confabbed with more aggrieved parties than any other legislator during that time, admitted as much to PIM contributor Britt Robson last week for an upcoming Capitol Report story on the Pawlenty schools shift: "The situation gives people pause whether or not to challenge in court, because the other alternatives [for shifts or cuts] are probably worse alternatives–if not for the schools, then for other folks."

In other words, no one can see any remedy to be had by suing the governor, only financial and political costs. As one lobbyist for local units of government put it to PIM about a month ago, "If somebody were to successfully challenge the governor’s authority, what would the remedy be? That’s the $64,000 question. And if we simply wait until the next legislative session [for reversals of unallotment cuts], then half of the biennial budget will already be spent and there would be fewer options for doing $2.7 billion in budgetary adjustments.

"[In a lawsuit,] would the courts tell the governor to call the Legislature into session? I don’t know that they would go that far. That might be a separation of powers issue in itself."

So while it remains possible that unallotment litigation will be filed–all it takes in theory is one citizen in a position to claim harm from Pawlenty’s cuts–the likelihood that any major players will sponsor or fund a lawsuit seems to have diminished greatly as the interested parties have had time to weigh the conceivable outcomes.

One example: DFLers at the Capitol concede privately that the Minnesota Hospital Association, once thought to be a prime candidate to sue, is likely to stay away from the courts, in part because Pawlenty’s announced unallotments hit them less hard than anticipated.