In his State of the State Address to a joint body of the House and Senate in the House chamber, Pawlenty urged lawmakers wrestling with a $4.85 billion budget deficit in the upcoming biennium not to raise taxes for strapped workers. Rather, calling the challenges facing the state “the worst we’ve seen in a long time,” Pawlenty said the state should cut the business tax rate in half, from 9.8 percent to 4.8 percent over a six-year period, and give businesses a series of tax credits and exemptions that would allow them to expand and create jobs… In his budget proposal later this month, Pawlenty said he will rely on spending cuts to balance the state’s budget. But he promised to protect military members and their families and public safety programs, and he urged legislators dealing with the deficit to do the same.