From cradle to grave, Pawlenty budget hits home

by Brian Bakst, Associated Press
January 23, 2007

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/01/23/feesup/

St. Paul, Minn. - (AP)- The beginning of life, and the end, would cost
more. Extra effort would be made to get federal headcounters to count
every Minnesota head. And $2 million would be set aside for a birthday
bash. Sprinkled throughout Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposed budget are
changes that won't draw much attention from legislators. But
Minnesotans - from farmers to funeral directors and hardened criminals
to history buffs - would sure feel their impact.

In laying out his $34.4 billion budget, Pawlenty put the spotlight
Monday on efforts to boost classroom spending, ease pressure on
property taxes, promote renewable fuels and expand public health
insurance programs.

The hundreds of budget pages reviewed by The Associated Press reveal a
much broader reach, such as added expenses for anyone who wants to get
behind the wheel or pitch a tent in a state park.

After rising $3 in the last budget, driver's license fees would be
bumped up another 75 cents to make a standard license cost $22.25.
Roughly 1.7 million license and ID cards are issued annually. There's
another 75 cents in added vehicle title fees and $1.75 more to
purchase a license plate, except for collector-car versions; they'd
jump $15.

"The fees are going up just to meet operational expenses," said Pat
McCormack, who leads the Division of Driver and Vehicle Services. The
increase will help the office maintain its two-week turnaround for
mailing out driver documents, she said.

Enjoying the outdoors could cost a bit more, too. Campground fees at
state parks - now used by 750,000 people a year - would climb an
average of $2 in 2008.

Fishing tournament organizers would have to pay a new, undetermined
fee to cover the $108,000 a year the Department of Natural Resources
now spends to oversee them.

Being born and dying also comes with added expense. A fee for
screening the estimated 72,000 newborns a year for health disorders
would rise for the second time in four years, going from $61 to $81.
Funeral homes, crematories and morticians would pay more to be
licensed and reports related to pre-paid funerals would carry a higher
fee.

Pawlenty's budget would change the cost of doing business for other
professions as well. Temporary employment agencies that help deliver
social services would pay more for worker background checks, people
who dispense hearing aids would pay higher certification fees and
health care providers would be charged $10 more to submit specimens to
state labs for disease testing.

Minnesota farmers who want to use the "Minnesota Grown" logo on their
produce would pay four times more for the privilege. Administration
officials said the new $20 annual fee is needed to help fund
promotional campaigns and expand the program to livestock producers.

On the flip side, fees would fall for occupational therapists and
aquatic pest control applicators. Pawlenty insisted Monday that the
overall fee increases - an ongoing source of controversy given his
resistance to general tax increases - were low compared to past
budgets.

Pawlenty tackles other business matters in the budget. He seeks
$315,000 to maintain a legal presence in the Northwest Airlines
bankruptcy proceeding; the attorney would keep watch over a
multimillion-dollar loan the state once gave the struggling carrier.
He earmarks $850,000 for a study of minority- and female-owned
businesses to determine whether they are getting an adequate share of
state contracts.

Crime-fighters get a lift with a Pawlenty plan to add 20 more forensic
scientists at the state crime lab, which officials say are needed to
deal with greater DNA demands and cut wait times for evidence analysis
from three months or more to one.

For current inmates, the budget includes $2.5 million extra to cope
with rapidly rising costs of prison health programs.

Visitors to the state Capitol could notice a heavier security presence
if the governor's proposal to add 20 guards and more security
equipment holds up. The neighboring Minnesota Judicial Center,
currently metal-detector free, would get unspecified fortification
under a $500,000 boost in security funding.

"Unfortunately, court decisions produce winners and losers," the
budget narrative reads. "Often the loser or those frustrated
throughout the court process can act out in dangerous ways."

Schools that need help planning for emergencies could turn to a new
state school safety center. And the budget includes $138,000 to
coordinate security for the 2008 Republican National Convention, the
only direct dollars Pawlenty spends on his party's party.

When it comes to parties, there's another big one approaching in 2008,
the state's 150th anniversary. Pawlenty devotes $2 million toward
Minnesota sesquicentennial events.

That recognition of the state's past is also evident in his request
for $308,000 to preserve 21 battle flags from the Civil War and
Spanish American War that are now on display in the Capitol Rotunda.

But there's also a keen eye on Minnesota's future, with a plan to prep
for the 2010 Census.

The once-a-decade national population count determines how much
representation Minnesota has in Congress and how federal highway
dollars and Medicaid money are doled out.

Pawlenty asks for $300,000 to kickstart outreach and promotion
campaigns to keep people from being missed - especially among
minorities, immigrants and the elderly.

Much is on the line. "Minnesota will be on the cusp of losing its 8th
congressional seat by 3,600 people to Florida," the budget documents
state. "This initiative will actively promote the full count that
Minnesota will need to retain this congressional seat."