| | | State general fund expenditures have doubled over the last decade.
State general fund spending has come no where near doubling. In fact, after adjusting for inflation and population growth, Minnesota general fund spending has increased at an annual average rate of only 1.3% over the last ten years.
Total state general fund spending increased by 68% from the FY 1994-95 biennium to the FY 2004-05 biennium (source: comparison of biennial general fund spending from MN Department of Finance). This is a far cry from doubling. In fact, after adjusting for inflation and population growth, Minnesota’s general fund spending increased by 14.1% over this period, which is an average annual growth rate of 1.3%. Furthermore, most of the real per capita growth in state general fund spending over the last decade is due to the state buy-down of education property taxes, which was supported by Governor Pawlenty and both political parties. In other words, most of the real per capita growth in the state general fund over the last ten years is due to measures that the Governor supported. This being the case, it seems a bit peculiar for the Governor to complain about growth in the state general fund.
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