Judge rules against Pawlenty on budget cuts

[SomeGuyInEagan]

Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

The governor's unilateral budget cuts are ruled improper, which could prompt more lawsuits and a new budget fight.

Challenging Gov. Tim Pawlenty's power to cut the state budget on his own, a judge on Wednesday halted some spending reductions and introduced a major new element to the upcoming budget fight.

Ramsey County District Court Judge Kathleen Gearin said the governor "trod upon the constitutional power of the Legislature" when he unilaterally cut the budget last summer through a procedure called unallotment.

"The authority of the Governor to unallot is an authority intended to save the state in times of a previously unforeseen budget crisis," wrote Gearin. "It is not meant to be used as a weapon by the executive branch to break a stalemate in budget negotiations with the Legislature or to rewrite the appropriations bill."

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/local/80369612.html

[FarLeftFist]

1. More proof conservatism can't work.

[Odin2005]

2. Good. Fuck Timmy the Tyrant.

[No Elephants]

3. Hope this throws a monkey wrench in his Presidential hopes. We don't need another President

who doesn't respect separation of powers.

[CatholicEdHead]

4. It probably won't

he will just use the "activist judge" talking point and then go ahead as the GOP base will not see taking an food program away from the poor as an PR hit.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

5. Not sure why the Mod moved this ...

Pawlenty is clearly positioning himself for a national run, therefore this is national news. This guy cut benefits for poor people without regard to the state's separation of powers, two very important insights to his character. We in Minnesota know what a tool he is, even if the corporate media continue to portray him in a positive light.