This morning, I wrote that the MNGOP was operating with made-up budget numbers that could bring a fiscal disaster. What I didn’t really think about was where those budget numbers came from in the first place. The answer is deeply disturbing: They’re getting them from unnamed private organizations. In a letter to Speaker Kurt Zellers, Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) decried the practice:

During your March 25th press briefing you made a surprising revelation about the fiscal projections House and Senate leaders are using to create the ominbus budget bills. Specifically, you acknowledged that fiscal chairs are “depending on figures from private business and from other states” to create the budget rather than using the non-partisan fiscal notes from Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB). 

Your reliance on private vendors to create the public’s budget is unprecedented and deeply concerning. With a $5 billion budget deficit, we must use facts, figures and verifiable public data to create a reliable budget for the next two years. [Rep. Ryan Winkler (PDF), via MN Progressive Project]

This raises a major question: What private groups, exactly, is the MNGOP relying on for its made-up numbers? The answer is that we have no idea. In his letter, Winkler formally called for Zellers and his caucus to answer a number of important questions about their made-up budget numbers?

1. Who are the private vendors that have provided House Republicans with financial consulting on the state’s budget?
2. Do any of the private vendors with which you have consulted have a financial stake in the budget area in which they provided you information?
3. Were any of the private vendors paid or compensated in any way whatsoever for their assistance in providing numbers for public revenue or expenditure bills?
4. When and how often did these consultancies with private vendors occur?
5. Were these meetings public and did they recognize Minnesota’s open meetings laws?

These are questions that need to be answered immediately. If the incorrect budget numbers that Zellers and the Republicans are using have been low-balled in order to help push through legislation favorable to their allies, that would constitute a serious breach of the public’s trust. It’s essential that Zellers be open and transparent with Minnesota citizens.