Interpreting the February Budget Forecast, Funding ALS Research

Minnesota’s economy continues to perform above expectations according to the February Budget and Economic Forecast, which projects a $9.3 billion budget surplus for FY2022-23. However, there are risks threatening the forecast's accuracy: the rate of inflation, the volatility of energy prices, continued geopolitical conflict, labor force participation and the path of the pandemic. Jim Schowalter, Commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget, and Dr. Laura Kalambokidis, Minnesota's State Economist, join Capitol Report moderator Shannon Loehrke to talk about the reliability of the forecast and how these risks may impact the state’s economy.

Also in the program, highlights from committee testimony on a bill that would provide $20 million for research into Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and from a recent floor debate over allowing Minnesota to join 39 other states in a Nurse Licensure Compact. Plus, highlights from recent press conferences with a bipartisan group of lawmakers seeking to remove a loophole that allows violent offenders to rejoin society without standing trial and advocates expressing concern over the impact of a parents' rights bill on LGBTQ youth.