A closer look at Gov. Pawlenty's unallotment cuts

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that Gov. Tim Pawlenty overstepped his authority when using unallotment to cut the state's budget last year.

Some programs that were cut might now have a newfound hope that their funding will be restored.

But Minnesota's budget would still have to be balanced somehow, and with the court ruling, the budget shortfall could now be as high as $3.7 billion.

Areas cut through unallotment might still face budget cuts at the Legislature as lawmakers work to close the gap.

Below is a list of areas that were cut through unallotment in June 2009.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AID

-- $300 million in aid payments to cities and counties

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

-- $236 million in human service spending, including eliminating General Assistance Medical Care, reducing hours personal care attendants can work and reducing spending for mental health programs

HIGHER EDUCATION

-- $50 million from general fund operating budget for the University of Minnesota and $50 million from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU)

STATE AGENCIES

-- $33 million from all state agency operating budgets except public safety, military and veterans affairs, corrections, State Operated Services and the Minnesota Sex Offender Program

DELAYED PAYMENTS:

-- A temporary unallotment cut of $1.17 billion in aid payments to schools delayed to help fill budget gap

-- A temporary unallotment cut of $63 million in capital equipment sales tax refunds delayed to help fill budget gap

TAX MODIFICATIONS

-- $106 million generated by modifying Minnesota's income tax reciprocity agreement with Wisconsin

-- $10.4 million generated by eliminating refunds for political contributions for two years

-- $51 million generated by reducing renters' refund