While there will be a lot of discussion about what should be done with the budget in the state legislature this year, I found the contrasting articles about it even more interesting.
Senate Democratic Leader Scott Heidepriem said he believes overall state spending should be limited to the rate of inflation up to a maximum of 3 percent each year, the same limit imposed on school districts. If that had happened during the seven years Rounds has been governor, the state would have saved more than $500 million, he said.
Heidepriem and House Democratic Leader Bernie Hunhoff of Yankton also said the state should reduce its work force over the next four years to 2003 levels. The work force has grown by the equivalent of 1,500 full-time jobs since Rounds took office seven years ago, they said.
Heidepriem said a preliminary analysis indicates as many as 600 positions in state government are vacant, so funding could be cut for those jobs.
“We need to change the way we do business in South Dakota government,” Heidepriem said.
Democrats have their own ideas, and Rep. Bernie Hunhoff of Yankton called for a “leap of faith” in changing the way state government works.
“That’s where we’re at in state government,” said Hunhoff, the House minority leader. “Change is a word we use too often, but change is what we need.”
The state has enough money to balance the next budget and perhaps enough for the next year’s, Hunhoff said. But in the future, South Dakota needs a fundamental shift in how it operates.
Democrats have called for a 3 percent cap on the annual growth in state general fund spending. They also say they might introduce legislation that would allow the state to spend only 98 percent of its anticipated revenues, a move that would help eliminate yearly deficits.
Who do you think did a better job of explaining the Dems plan?