Minnesota projects $1.5 billion surplus [View all]

Minnesota’s strong economy and an anticipated savings in health care costs are expected to leave the state with a $1.5 billion budget surplus for the next two years, a dramatic increase from a projection earlier this year.

The nation is in the second-longest period of sustained growth in history, behind a stretch in the 1990s, and it’s left the state with a string of back-to-back budget surpluses.

Budget numbers released Thursday “show a remarkable recovery from the financial shambles in which I took office eight years ago,” said outgoing Gov. Mark Dayton, who came into office facing a $6.2 billion deficit, drained reserves and late payments to public schools. Incoming Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, will take over in January in a strong position to start working on some of his campaign vows, including boosting educational spending, expanding publicly funded health care and new money for transportation. Republican leaders, meanwhile, are already pushing for tax cuts.

The state’s economist and budget officials release forecasts twice a year, looking at state, national and even global economic trends. This new projection is $1.2 billion higher than the forecast in February.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-projects-1-5-billion-surplus/502071881/