Good afternoon. This is Bob Potter reporting from the gallery of the Minnesota House of Representatives per state capitol in St. Paul. Governor. Rudy perpich will shortly deliver his budget message to a joint session of the Minnesota state legislature. Our live coverage of this event is made possible in part with the financial assistance of the Minneapolis Tribune members of the Minnesota Senate end of the chamber about 15 minutes ago, and we're now waiting for governor purpose to make his appearance. This will be a longer addressed and the State of the State message. We are in a few weeks ago the full text of the budget message runs about a hundred and twenty-five Pages. The governor's aides say he worked through the night and the morning hearing is actual oral presentation this morning to about 40 minutes. The sergeant-at-arms has charge announced the arrival of the governor, and he will not be entering the chamber. He is being escorted by a delegation of five numbers from the house and 5 numbers from the Senate. Do you have colors from the house are Arlene Leto Mary Murphy Linda Cheyenne winiger and independent Republican. Jim Evans. Senate dfl escorts are George perpich Evan Hansen Frank Noel James Sikorsky X And the governor is now making his way toward the front of the chamber being given a standing ovation by members of the Minnesota Legislature. Checking house now with Senate President Ed Garrity. I'll speaker Mark and Sable. Like it or not. Thank you very much. I went through this year. Mr. Speaker Who was the president? Members of The Joint Commission I present to you the governor of state of Minnesota The Honorable Rudy perpich and fellow citizens of Minnesota 3 weeks ago. I spoke of the Minnesota spirit and my deep concern for healthy people a healthy environment and a healthy economy. I predicted will be judged glass on the number of our proposals. Then on the quality of our stewardship today is a time to turn those words at the dollars and legislative recommendations, but no budget can take care of every concern of every group. I have not tried to do that and this speech Only Hits the highlights of the longer written message and a documents that go with it. This budget includes balance request to meet high-priority needs. We live in the state together and when we must use our resources to benefit all of Minnesota, this is a large budget, but in fact it Tires, it requires the smallest percentage increase in 10 years, if if we leave existing programs just the way they are today and add 6% each year for inflation. I would have to ask for a 6.1 billion dollars just to hold a line the difference between a 6.1 billion + 1 billion + 6.3 + requesting is the 183 million dollar budget surplus which I intend to return to the people in indirect tax relief at least someone proposes to the through the legislature state budget money is precious. State budget money is precious people work hard during the taxes. They pay they expect us to spend their money wisely. We're going to live up to the expectations. We're proposing substantial income tax and property tax relief. We're asking you to reduce the number of state employees. We're not asking any state tax increase for the general fund. This budget proposal is not written in stone. You want to make changes and of course or live together, we can produce a budget that we have worked out together. Now, let's look at some of the most important recommendations. I am proposing that we simplify the state income tax and tax form and in the process reduce income taxes 100 million dollars in 1933 when the income tax began we had these two sheets. An hour and today when you fill out your income tax to get it in the mail a 34-page form to show the difference in since since income tax was first initiated here in in Minnesota. I want the people Minnesota to be able to use a half-page form like we have right here. So it's quite a difference from the 34 pages does half page forum. I want them to be able to fill out the form themselves without spending frustrating hours in the process. This long form isn't just complicated. It's impossible for most people to understand how far people don't even apply for the tax relief. They have coming as an example that working poor credit about 250,000. Minnesota families were eligible last year, but only half filled out the extra form. They will get the proper credit if we simplify the income tax structure, we need real tax reform this session. I have some other tax relief proposals for you today 21 million dollars a permanent property tax relief by reducing the required tax, levy and increasing the Farm Homestead exemption 58 million dollars more in per capita age for Minnesota cities. Eliminating the payroll tax a 97% of Minnesota businesses and lowering it for the rest your lemonade in the sales tax on newsprint use the newspapers. This tax is inconsistent with state sales tax policy, which exempts materials used in production these proposals add up to 180 9 million dollars in tax reductions for our people 100 million dollars that total will be used to reduce individual income taxes for more than 1 million minnesotans and no one need pay more some other budget proposal will also help keep property tax of down we must provide 85 million dollars more to continue the state tax for the state takeover of County Medical Assistant cost before last year all this money came from property taxes. We should give an additional $165 in School Aids. We should also improve and continue the state circuit breaker program for property tax relief. We can make these reforms and provide relief If We Hold the Line on major new spending and that is what I propose to do at the same time. We can tighten our belts to streamline existing programs to save our tax resources the budget proposals include nearly two-dozen specific steps to accomplish that goal submerged activity so that people can work together on the same goals some Allende structures that we really don't need some reorganize single departments or several departments. Let me give you just a few example that recognizes some of these are controversial transferring the consumer service division to the Attorney General's office. So we have just one consumer protection effort serving related needs Under One Roof so that people in need of help can be moved its a job market through one agency deciding whether another five boards commissions and consoles are worth continuing saving $900,000 of State money in the next 2 years. By turning occupational safety and health over to the federal government. We are going to the Department of Economic Development reducing staff and using purchase of service to promote tourism and economic reducing paperwork and simplifying all those forms that business and people have to fill out in order to operate and live in our state starting salaries ethical standards and affirmative action programs are public employees so we know who gets the money and why who gets hired and why one other management recommendation deserves special attention in 1899 Governor vetoed a bill passed by the Minnesota Legislature that bill created to Mental Hospitals in Anoka and Hastings Governor Lynn wanted Community facilities Instead. This goes back to 1899 the legislature overrode his veto Local Economic interest overpowered Statewide perspective. That decision State shape and development of the state hospital system in Minnesota today. I'm asking you to take a long hard look at that system between 1960 and today the average daily population are State hospitals has declined from more than 16,000 to less than 5,300. We cannot escape the facts. We have more Hospital space that we need administrative costs are too high. It's a waste of energy and staff to keep empty buildings in operation. It's more more difficult to put the right staff together for small groups of residence. If we didn't add a single new community facility there would still be enough room in our state hospital system just called several of them without crowding the rest or hurting service. And that is what I recommend. We should take action in this session to phase out both Anoka and Hastings state hospital and provide for the Residence at other nearby institutions. Hastings can be used to provide. 300 veterans with good environment, they deserve while keeping most of the present staff. Most of the cost would be paid by the federal government. We can save money and improve our other hospital if we close Innokin Hastings. We might even be able to resolve a court dispute over Cambridge. If we don't do anyting all of our hospitals will cost us more closing Hastings in Anoka is not the political thing to do but it's the right thing to do and we should go ahead with it. There's another right thing to do and if we want good leadership and state government, we expect a great deal from the people who head are state agencies good legislators from both parties are finding it financially difficult to serve and as I said on my many visits that I made throughout Minnesota. Chairman of the Minnesota Bicentennial commission or Minnesota legislators hard-working, it's an honest legislature and is one of the most respected in the nation and I'm very very very proud of him. Business learned long ago that responsible leadership takes good salaries, we expect department heads and legislators to use good judgment take risks and make some very difficult decisions. We have given the matter responsibilities, but we have not increased their salaries since 1973. I strongly recommend that you hold public hearings early in the session and salaries of legislators and judges and department heads and make the difficult but important decision to increase their salaries. I repeat a salary increase is not the political thing to do, but believe me it is the right thing to do. It takes more than paid employees to make government to work as chairman the Minnesota Bicentennial. I saw thousands of volunteers working effectively in community projects volunteers make important contribution. They deserve more recognition more encouragement and more help. I am recommending legislation to continue and strengthen the governor's office of volunteer services. We need a better definition of healthcare and my budget reflects. One are people have been led to believe that big house insurance policies more doctors more high-cost hospital beds and better technology mean better Healthcare not necessarily so Healthcare means keeping people. Well nuts just curing them wants to become ill it means prevention. It means education research an individual responsibility Better Health Care means finding problems in children while there's still time to deal with them. I proposing today that we provide Statewide health screening of all four year olds during the next two years and screening of all newborn infants for disorders that can cause mental retardation and death if they are not treated immediately. Minnesota has been chosen chosen as the location for Vinland Health Center to be started with a gift from the Norwegian government. This Center will help handicapped people to take care of their health. It will tell others how to stay healthy. I am recommending $500,000 which will be a 10% matching fund the matching funds to help start been on Center all minnesotans need good information and advice and art takes serious responsibility for staying healthy. I recommend that we support a special health education publicity effort in the Minnesota Department of Health to use Public Service advertising to recharge citizens in Better Health also means active people we can help more people be more active by expanding Trails for biking hiking and skiing. I propose that we provide 18 million dollars to build an additional ten thousand miles of biking hiking and ski trails on State and local public land and build safe biking trails along some new highway. Carter's these permanent prevents should be financed through bonds better Healthcare also means actively seeking answers to cause of disease and methods of providing care at a reasonable cost my budget proposes 20 million dollars for health research to take advantage of the superior resources. We already have at the University of Minnesota at the mail center. We should increase funding for University Research and blood vessel disease has immunology and genetics and neurosciences. We should support the mail centers ongoing research and treatment of heart and lung diseases anti-cancer drugs kidney disorders and mental disease. We should speed up research at the University of Minnesota and prevention and more effective treatment of dental problems. And we should create a Health Service Research Center not only to provide information on the healthcare cost but also on how to effectively deliver those services this health research effort will generate Many more millions of additional Federal private and Foundation research funds presently the state of Minnesota appropriate 14 million $800,000 for research in health Agriculture and Technology. We receive an additional 54200000 dollars from from other sources Federal and private the best way to do something about health care about house care cost is by keeping people well, but we will never eliminate all disease and we must not forget those who suffer from tragic illnesses and accidents last year the legislature approved a catastrophic health insurance program. I recommend that we appropriate 23 million dollars to fund it for the next two years. These Health proposals are intended to minimize the need for expensive house repair and increase the likelihood that people will live longer and better. I know you will join me in that commitment. Another major emphasis on these recommendations is to build a healthy economy by putting people to work Minnesota's unemployment rate is well below the national level yet more than 85,000 minnesotans are looking for work today for these people. The economy is not improving. It's a disaster. We must not forget those who do not have jobs many or untrained for work unable to help themselves their families and their communities. They are out of work out of money and out of Hope state government cannot provide all the jobs we need but we can emphasize State programs like highways accelerated Bridge replacement and recreational projects that put people to work in the private sector we can use job training Vocational Technical education and job placement assistance to give unemployed people a chance to qualify for good jobs. We must also assist people who want to work by supporting expanded Child Care programs in a dish. The current 2300000 dollars. I'm a pro at proposing that we appropriate 3 and 1/2 million dollars to establish a sliding fee fee schedule for child care, These funds will make it possible for people of modest means to earn a living for their families government isn't Rich enough to give things away to maintain people in welfare, when there's important work to be done makes no sense in my judgment. There's no point in paying people to do nothing when they could be doing something useful and there's much more dignity for people if we started that start them toward Independence and self support this year. We are cooperating with the federal government in the city of st. Paul in a work Equity demonstration. It'll Place 15000 Public Assistance recipients in job sparkly paid for with welfare funds they would receive even if they didn't work. So we are taking the step in the hope that we can work together to reduce the number of Who depend on welfare? We also need to mobilize our resources to find jobs for young people in society that preaches opportunity and success through hard work is tragic to be young and unemployed for the next two years. I'm requesting major increases for the Governor's Summer Youth Employment Program and they used Conservation Corps and that particular emphasis be placed on hiring disadvantaged youth. I'm asking additional funds to provide jobs for 2,000 more low-income people in housing Rehabilitation winterization and other important energy conservation programs by next year the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency will a financed more than 50,000 housing units. This effort will create 12,000 construction jobs, the construction of these units will exhaust the agency's bonding Authority. I am there for recommending at the ceiling of this Authority be increased from $600 to $900. This increase will make possible a continued commitment for the affordable homes and Rehabilitation programs. Many of our people are employed as small businesses. Especially Governor's advisory task force small business has reported the concerns of this important segment of our state's economy. I recommend eliminating the the payroll tax on small businesses. I also recommend $1000000 / Minnesota Indian Small Business program real employment opportunities in Minnesota must come from the private sector. We have reason to be optimistic. We have a hard-working productive educated Workforce our commitment to Technical vocational education is unmatched in the nation. We have many large companies and they like it here and they are source of steady economic growth and new jobs. Here's what it a Minnesota insurance company executive wrote and I Minneapolis newspaper about their reasons for expanding in, Minnesota. Are personal experiences as residents of this state confirm the surveys which indicate that we enjoy a superior superior quality of life here in Minnesota. The executives are Prudential impressed with the concern for fiscal responsibility demonstrated by Minnesota Government. We are pleased with the legislature and administration are Guided by a pay-as-you-go philosophy educational standards in Minnesota provide us with well-schooled motivated people for all levels of our operation that story can be told over and over again a Minnesota people and business make a commitment to the state because it is a good place to live and a good place to work. We have a magnificent array of scientific scientific research and problem-solving in our universities and Private Industry the economic benefits of investing in research or unbelievable. Remember, it's University of Minnesota transform the economy of the Iron Range by developing the taconite process. We know from experience what agricultural research can do it has meant much to the farm economy of Minnesota. There's also a growing new international industry coming from research & energy conservation and energy Alternatives. We have a chance to be a part of that to our proposal for a national Solar Energy Research Institute. It'll be worth billions of dollars of growth in the long run. If we get it we should also be doing something with our vast Pete resources. And without Pete Minnesota is an energy energy user state with Pete. We can become providers providers of energy and providers of jobs. And there's only one way to develop repeat and that is to research we have 60% of all the rest of the people in the United States. We should use a talent and resources at the University of Minnesota at Duluth to accomplish this task, then there's copper nickel if we find the right way to develop copper nickel and protect our environment. It will mean a new industry new job. And growth that will last for many years copper nickel research should also be at the University of Minnesota Duluth. I mean if a time in favor of public service job to help people it's better to work. They do nothing but public service jobs are not a permanent solution if that's all we do in two years will have a lot of people still still need work and we will need more jobs for public service. We need more money for public service jobs my recommendation to put money into public service jobs, but a commitment to research is more productive in the long run for the economy. And the people of Minnesota research is a great Economic Opportunity for Minnesota. My budget recommendations leave room for a six-million-dollar investment and Pete and agricultural Research In addition to the funds committed the copper nickel and house research together. We should put that money to work for the future economic health of Minnesota. If you are willing to do that, I'm absolutely certain that the research investment will come back to us again. And again in the long run. It will increase job opportunity and economic growth in the short run every state research dollar brings in for additional dollars from federal and private sources. What I'm trying to say is I want government to work and I want our people to work. I believe in work when I was a boy by the lunch-bucket tallest how things were it was being filmed in the morning or my father had in his hand when he went out the door that meant happiness he had work but if that lunch bucket set on the Shelf all day that meant no work and sad X. My father was a miner who spent a lot of his time waiting for work if the freeze game too early in the fall or the order for I ignored income at all. He had to keep on waiting. He didn't like waiting for work and uses the rest of it bothers me to know that 85,000 minnesotans have their lunch bucket on the Shelf. I intend to do everything possible to put people back to work. Most of my recommendations on energy environment will come in two separate statements in the near future before I do that. I like to have a minute to thank the great great people to state for helping out during the emergency. I know it's tough to put up with chili houses and to slow down on the highways, but the last few weeks are citizens have Sherbert at home and take it and taking it easy on the road. They made a real difference in my short time as Governor. This energy crisis has dominated public attention along with two other issues the dispute over power lines and Central and Western Minnesota and the long and frustrating attempt to end The Dumping of taconite tailings in Lake Superior. They've taken a great deal of my time and and they'll take a great deal of yours. But these problems should not be allowed to hide the fact that the Minnesota state legislature over the past six years has the best environmental record in the country. We will continue this record and we will solve those problems. I learned a long time ago that education is the passport out of poverty. If you have knowledge and skill hardware and hard work will take you a long way. You can make the most of your ability and so can others education takes nearly one-half the state budget but has given that back many times to the contributions of people who know how to do things this year Foundation Azar set at $960 per pupil unit. They should be increased to $1,025 the next year and $1,095 the following year special education age should be increased 54% to enable more students with special problems to break through learning barriers and begin to realize their full potential. Metro increases in transportation and Vocational Technical age identified in my budget documents just land values are going up rapidly Fair School Finance requires another reduction in the required school. Levy that raises local money from public schools. I recommend that it be set at 28 Mills what you lower property taxes about 18 million dollars for public collagen and it University my recommended recommendations total $530 for the next two years. They do not provide for any staff to me temporary future and Roman increases but they do provide staff for all enrollments already at the schools. These recommendations will avoid problems of overstaffing s college enrollment decline in the 1980s this budget also provides for an appropriation of two and a half million dollars to equalize athletic opportunities for women and men at the University of Minnesota. for scholarships and grants I'm recommending 16 million additional dollars but I'm not satisfied with these programs we need more emphasis on work as part of the student financial assistance so I'm adding $5000000 for the Summer Youth Employment Program for jobs for college use for replacement of trees destroyed by Dutch elm disease cleaning up City and Rural environments and for helping old and handicapped people get more joy out of life I want students to have a chance to work and to learn outside the classroom Is Bicentennial chairman I travel to many Minnesota communities at a time when it's dark events and traditions were very important to the people so strips renewed my sense of history of the diversity of our people have a constant effort to preserve our memory of the past and they showed me artist and performers and action in their own communities small and large. We are doing too little water preserve and interpret our past too little to build the Arts throughout our state. I'm asking you today to make a larger commitment to history in yards as a bicentennial gift to Future Generations. I want to preserve Our Heritage for the future before the bulldozers knock it all down and shove it into Oblivion. I want to take our history out of the adicts the homes the text books and bring it out in the open so that minnesotans to learn more about themselves their families the communities their state and our nation. I recommend $2000000 for additional interpretive Center has to be used 50% matching grants to communities I believe our first priority should be a Niger agricultural interpretive Center. I'm also asking for a special program to identify and preserve our historic sites. I recommend the million dollars for men matching grants for local history and local history and history education projects for the Arts of Minnesota. I recommend that state funding be increased a $4000000 for subsidies of major art centers in the state and for extending Community programs as a Heritage of the Minnesota Bicentennial let us encourage history and I are to come live in large cities and small communities throughout the state the bicentennial Years Gone. But history in yards can make a live forever in Minnesota. This is my first budget this message reflects my budget priorities and so far as possible. It doesn't reflect everything. I believe must be done for the people or my view of what government should be and how it should serve our people I will submit policy statements and crime energy environment and other subjects as they are completed. I am deeply concerned about senior citizens the handicap Farmers labor business in all facets of Minnesota society and their relationship to all of Minnesota. I believe that Reserve mining companies taconite tailings are not just in northeastern Minnesota issue. When I dress that subject my special special message, I will do so with the full knowledge that the decisions of a court the company and the state agencies affect every Minnesotan. I bleed at the Lakes and trees and beauty of the Boundary Water canoe area are the concern of every citizen. I believe that drought is not a pharmacist you it has already hurt every, Minnesota. I believe that special education is not only a concern of effective children their families and professional or volunteer Advocates. We all benefit from the things that disadvantaged people learn to do. We all suffer the cost if they are not encouraged and assisted to become independent and productive people. I believe that Transit is not just a metropolitan issue. Their highway is just a real issue. I believe you'll take the same view. We have a great deal to do we must do it together and we will do it together and it's a plaque on the wall in my office reads. None of us is as smart as all of us. Thank you very very much. Got to get ready for fish delivery in his budget cuts words to this joint session of the Minnesota House and Senate government managed to care about 10 more minutes out of the speech the ribs originally. Yeah. I heard he had it for about 30 minutes. Total budget request that the governor is somebody was 6.3 billion dollars up from 5.2 billion to the current biennium governor volume at 6% and play Shane factor for each of the next two years. And the rest of the increased comes mostly from the circuit breaker and state take over the county some County welfare cost which were not fully funded in the last legislative session. The largest portion of the total budget goes for school lights 36% 29% posted property tax relief and Aid the local guide 15% will be spent on health welfare and Corrections programs at 12% goes to higher education. the current session of House and Senate will adjourn now and the members were gone about the other committee business of the day. Debbie Gage has a joined us up here and lie in the house Gallery the budget offers a few new initiatives, but generally it provides funding for programs which have already been in place over the past few years a large large amount of money going to schools a large amount of money going to property tax relief and the light that's true $1, which governor for which is put into income tax simplification. That means that people will be paying a hundred million dollars Less in taxes than they would have it that program had been enacted. That is something that Governor Anderson had suggested about a year ago and which the tax study commission has been doing research on for some time and they evidently just discovered recently. They will grow be enough money in a budget surplus to return that back. I'm told that governor. Which is cool and that proposal is to have at least two-thirds of the Minnesota families be able to fill out a simplified form which would require about one or two steps. It's about a half page form. Is he demonstrated here and not unlike the short form of the federal income tax from the appearance? So that's right. And I guess there will be other inequities skrecc it as well. I'm told that a family of four with some moderate income pays more and state taxes than they do in federal taxes right now, and there's also great disparities between one and two family is the one in her family would pay about 30% more in taxes than a torn her family. And there's that low income credit which is included in this form evidently 250,000 families were eligible for that last year and only a small percentage applied because the farm was complicated. They didn't know they were eligible. They couldn't fill it out. So that money will be available around too many more people. The governor does recommend finally spending that State Surplus which has been accumulating over the past few years. That was a major issue in the last legislative session being attached to the stadium bill of all things in the Senate and finally they're going to just get rid of that Surplus and apparently see what happens from there. Well, they're returning it to people through tax relief either income tax or property tax you record a conversation earlier this morning with one of the governor's age. Is that not right? That's right. And what did John Haynes have to say about the text talking about the hundred-million-dollar simplification? There are some other smaller interesting little bits of the speech that the governor did not have a chance to go into in this oral presentation, but they are included in the and the full budget and if I can arrange my papers in such a way here is to get to them he did talk about increasing the funding from the for the Housing Finance Agency from 609 hundred million dollars, but he also wants a direct appropriation of 24 million dollars for additional grants and low-interest Loans to low and moderate-income families want to rehabilitate their own homes another six million dollars for energy conservation loans and grants 2.4 million dollars for Community Action Program. So that disadvantaged people can be employed and winterization housing Rehabilitation another energy conservation programs, the energy portion of the governor's plans. So will be delivered at a later time. The governor today indicated that there's at least a couple of areas that he is particularly interested in one is Healthcare a call for that Statewide health screening program of all four year olds. He also suggests 20 million dollars in health research at the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic 10 million dollars to go to the Mayo Clinic to develop some methods of treating early diagnosis of heart and lung disease $3000000 University of Minnesota Dental School for research and tooth decay gum, and bone disease mouth defects and Dental Health Care for senior citizens Governor, right as you know, operates a dental practice in his hometown of coming so obviously he's got a special sensitivity to metal health care. It certainly has Bob and I would guess it would be again. He is recommending that Hastings be closed this year if possible and that that facility be turned into a veterans home at something that they have tried to pass sessions and just failed. They haven't been able to agree with the idea of this by the way is to increase stuck Community Corrections programs or community health programs to get people who don't need direct care out into programs with it where they would have a little more self-control and be able to see their family and friends were he is recommended that Anoka Hospital be close by January 1st, 1979. And then the Direct Care patients be transferred to Rochester St. Peter and Willow River hospitals. And also possibly to Cambridge which they're trying to upgrade because of Judge Larson's order. The reason they want to wait two years on an oak is that they aren't sure yet what they're going to do with those patients or what to do with the build. The buildings are outdated, but they'll have to think about that. When we talked about the spending about 18 million dollars in bonds for building bicycle hiking and skiing trails and some of the state parks and regional parks and County parks around the state. You didn't mention in his speech today. But but he's also asking 200 million dollars. I'm sorry 4 million dollars to build 200 tennis courts around the state a hundred of them in the metro area and a hundred of them out of state. I'm told by his aides that he was evidently struck by tennis courts, he feels that the Family Sport and it's takes up less land and golf and when he was driving around in northern Minnesota on his Bicentennial trips, he always noticed people standing in line waiting to use the tennis courts, so he would like to rectify that. Well, I hope you appropriate a little more so that some of us can learn how to play the game. He calls for about 26 million dollars to deal with the problem of Dutch elm disease that a serious problem in the state and suggest that there be a fair amount of money also to replace the elm trees with other shade trees. It calls for a continuation of other aesthetic environment related programs. Moving abandoned cars screen junk yards from public View and encouraging no Statewide cleanup program also a comprehensive inventory of underground water by million dollars for that and also to finish the survey of surface water, which is currently underway Governor made a number of suggestions in the field of the streamlining state government. He wants for example to merge the office of consumer services in the Commerce Department with the attorney general's office. He wants to eliminate the Department of Economic Development. And he also calls for zero based budgeting for the 1980-81 budget. The governor's proposal. Is that each agency in Department with more than one program evaluate at least one program a year and then all programs for any of his plan would be evaluated every 4 years. And that just about sums up some of the major item, of course the biggest one being School a Debbie. He has put Even a little less money into the school lights formula this year than he has in the past that is for two reasons partly because of declining enrollment and partly because of rising land values and agricultural areas, which means they would be picking up a little more in the local property tax with that still is the major part of the budget because they're tired of that school aid formula that was created in 1971. That would appear to be almost the single largest item in the budget 1.8 billion dollars in school aid and as we say education does account for the highest percentage of the entire state budget. The governor will be meeting with reporters in just a little while to answer their questions about the budget and then I think it about 1:30. He's going to open the office to members of the public who might want to come in and chat with him about the budget for the governor continues his policy of trying to meet with the citizens of the state as much as he can. Our live coverage of this budget address by the governor was made possible in part with c financial assistance of the Minneapolis Star. I'm sorry the Minneapolis Tribune. And this is Minnesota Public Radio.