State budget proposals often fluctuate.  It can be challenging for Mayors and their teams to put together just the right combination for their needs.  That changes a lot and henceforth so do their proposals.

One example of this is Minnesota.  Over in St. Paul, an announcement was made by Governor Tim Walz of some budget modifications.  Faced with a forecast of sluggish economic growth, Walz reduced some budget requests.  But none of these impacted health and education which remain high in his priority list. Walz’s first budget proposal was based on when the situation would have given him a surplus of $1.5b.  According to Myron Frans, Management and Budget Commissioner:

“The revised budget is balanced, it is fiscally sound.  Our revised budget continues to invest in education, health care, community prosperity and provides a positive balance in ’22 and ’23.”

Over on the west coast, the focus is on the homeless situation.  Mayors from LA and other California cities have approached Gov. Gavin Newsom with a request for “hundreds of millions in additional funding” for this issue.  Last year Kevin Faulconer, Sam Liccardo and others in the area fought for $500m in state grants for homelessness prevention efforts under Jerry Brown who was governor at the time.  Meanwhile, LA has anyway set aside over 50% of the $85 million it received for its homeless shelter construction proposal nationwide. 

In Alabama, proposals were released for the 2020 state budget.  These were compiled by Gov. Kay Ivey to “reflect growth in tax revenues and priorities on how to allocate the additional dollars.”  The request includes the spending of $2.15 billion for the 2020 fiscal year.  This was an extra 4 percent compared to last year (totaling an additional $91 million).