January 26, 2021

Governor releases proposed budget

As expected, Governor Walz released his proposed budget for the 2022-2024 biennium on Tuesday, January 26, 2021.  Minnesota enacts budgets for a two-year cycle (a biennium), beginning on July 1 of each odd-numbered year. By law, the Governor must propose a biennial budget in January of odd numbered years.

The Minnesota state budget operates on a two-year cycle, or biennium, covering two fiscal years. A fiscal year (FY) begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year and is designated by the year in which it ends; thus FY 2022 begins on July 1, 2021 and ends on June 30, 2024. The biennium begins on July 1 of odd-numbered years.
Linked below you will find detailed information on the FY 2022-23 budget, beginning with the current law “base” as defined in M.S. 16A.11, subd. 3(b) and then the Governor’s original budget recommendations, released January 26, 2021.  Revisions will be added as they are released. All the documents below are PDF versions.
  • Governor’s Recommendations by Agency (note that the Human Services budget alone is 478 pages long!)
  • Summary of Changes – General Fund
  • Summary of Changes – Non-General Fund

Supporting Documents

  • General Fund Balance Analysis – Detail
  • General Fund Balance Analysis – Summary
  • General Fund Pie Charts
  • General Fund Balance Financial Summaries
  • Healthcare Access Fund Statement
The process of creating a new state budget begins in even-numbered years. The commissioner of Minnesota Management & Budget prepares and distributes budget instructions and forms to all state agencies. Each agency’s proposed budget must show actual expenditures and receipts for the two most recent fiscal years, estimated expenditures and receipts for the current fiscal year, and estimates for each fiscal year of the next biennium. This information is used as the basis for the governor’s proposed biennial budget.
In late November, 2020, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) projected that the state would face a $1.27 billion budget shortfall in the upcoming biennium. Governor Walz’s budget as proposed could be described as a balanced approach to the revenue shortfall, including a mixture of cuts and new revenues while generally framing the proposal as part of his administration’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the governor’s initial budget is based off of the November budget forecast, the state will receive a revised estimate from MMB in late February or early March. The February forecast will guide the state legislators as they assemble and work to pass a balanced budget prior to the May 17, 2020 deadline to adjourn. MMB’s budget forecasts reflect current law and are based on the most recent information about the national and state economic outlook as well as caseload, enrollment, and cost projections.