Emmer for Governor
May 5, 2010
2:13 PM
Saint Paul
In the latest example of judicial activism, the Minnesota Supreme Court, in a narrow 4-3 decision, took it upon itself to rewrite the unallotment statute to their liking by adding conditions on the executive branch that do not exist in the current statute.
The law requires the governor to balance the budget. The law requires the governor to prepare a budget forecast as part of the budget balancing process. The law requires the governor to use unallotment after exhausting other means if revenues do not meet expenditures. The law is clear, and Governor Pawlenty followed the law.
The court changed the law in midstream by adding a time constraint to when the governor could exercise his unallotment powers. Once the court changed the law, they found that the Commissioner of Finance did not follow the “new” law.
Instead of acting as politicians, we need judges that will make decisions by applying the letter of the law to the facts.
It is now up to Speaker Kelliher, Majority Leader Pogemiller and the DFL controlled legislature to reinstate the unallotments in order to fix the budget hole created by their failure to produce a balanced budget in 2009.
Prepared and paid for by
Tom Emmer for Governor
P.O. Box 14269
Saint Paul, MN 55114
(952) 562-2600