Recommendations from the Sept. 8 Legislative Summit on how to pull the state out of its ongoing budget problems -- signed by 12 former governors and top legislators (mostly, but not all, DFLers) -- were turned over to current DFL legislators today.

In response, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller and Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher, both of Minneapolis, said they'll form a joint subcommittee to craft recommendations that reflect the findings of the Leadership Summit. They're calling it the Subcommittee on a Balanced Budget, and it will will be a subcommittee of the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy.

Co-chairs will be Pogemiller and Rep. Lyndon Carlson, DFL-Crystal, and they'll begin meeting soon to seek some solutions for the 2010 Legislature.

The Summit document says that in the nearterm and over the long run, state expenditures will continue to significantly exceed revenue. The state can't outgrow the problem, leaders said, so it requires a balance of tax increases and spending cuts. They also call for an "appropriate budget reserve" and a strict policy that the state will spend only an amount equal to the current revenue raised in a biennial budget period.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty did not attend the event, saying he knew it would result in a call for more taxes.

Those signing the statement were:

Former Govs. Wendell Anderson, Arne Carlson and Al Quie,; former House Speakers Phil Carruthers, David Jennings, Dee Long, Martin Sabo, Harry Sieben and Bob Vanasek; and former Senate Majority Leaders John Hottinger, Dean Johnson and Roger Moe.