A floor vote in the Minnesota House on beefing up Minnesota’s Disaster Assistance Fund could come soon, as a key committee this morning debates the 30-million-dollar infusion requested by Governor Tim Walz. Starbuck Republican Paul Anderson suggested the money come from the state’s “Rainy Day” budget reserve. “We have over a billion dollars in the budget reserve. We have a ‘Rainy Day Fund.’ If some of that could be designated, if the need were there to replenish this disaster fund,” Anderson says.
Governor Tim Walz calls that “bad budgeting.” He says the numbers in the Rainy Day Fund are to prepare for a recession, based on historical numbers. Walz wants the “Rainy Day Fund” at full strength, particularly with the economic jitters over coronavirus.