Deal reached on state bonding bill

03/30/2005

Associated Press
March 30, 2005

Legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Pawlenty struck a deal Wednesday on a slate of state-backed construction projects. They planned to discuss details at an afternoon news conference.

If it holds up, the agreement would mark the most significant breakthrough at the Capitol in more than a year. The bonding bill got tangled in last session’s gridlock and became a symbol of legislative dysfunction.

The deal resulted from several hours of closed-door talks among a select group of Republican and DFL legislators and Pawlenty and his top aides. While few details emerged ahead of time, talks earlier in the day had centered on a bill authorizing between $880 million and $900 million in state borrowing.

During one morning break, Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar, said the sides were going “line by line, dollar by dollar’’ in search of agreement.

Added House Majority Leader Erik Paulsen, R-Eden Prairie, “We want to get this done.’’

A House-Senate conference committee scheduled an evening hearing to formalize the agreement, clearing the way for votes on both floors. It takes 60 percent majorities in the House and Senate to approve the debt.

New college labs, wastewater treatment facilities and prison expansions are the types of things bonding bills typically fund.

Lawmakers usually pass a sizable bonding bill in even-numbered years, but they couldn’t agree on the size or shape of a bill in 2004. Some around the Capitol believe the lack of a bonding bill contributed to some House GOP election losses and the DFL’s 13-seat gain.

The year delay came at a price in the form of higher interest rates, increased labor costs and added costs for raw materials.