Flood aid is focus of special session

09/11/2007

Pawlenty called legislators in this afternoon for some "crisp floor action" to approve $150 million to $160 million in relief.


By Mark Brunswick and Pat Doyle,
Star Tribune
September 10, 2007


Facing increasing political pressure from fatigued and mud-soaked residents of southeastern Minnesota, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the state's legislative leaders agreed on Monday to convene a one-day special legislative session at the State Capitol today to pass a $150 million to $160 million disaster relief bill.

Pawlenty called the special session for 5 p.m. DFL and Republican legislative leaders pledged to get the job done within one day on an agenda narrowly focused on flood relief.

"We anticipate crisp floor action," Pawlenty said in announcing the special session.

The flood-relief package, which was still being tweaked Monday evening, would use a combination of cash and borrowed money to finance home and business loans, debris clean-up and infrastructure repairs in the flood-damaged area, which includes seven counties in southeastern Minnesota that have been declared federal disaster areas.

If the bill passes, money could be flowing within days, weeks or months, depending on the program, Pawlenty said in announcing the agreement.

Other funding, such as for infrastructure and road and bridge repairs, could take months to finalize, he acknowledged.

As governor, Pawlenty, a Republican, is the only one who can call a special legislative session. Once it is called, though, only the Legislature can determine when it ends and what the agenda might be.

Both the House and Senate DFL majority leadership pledged to stay on task, and minority leaders in both chambers said they would keep their caucuses disciplined as well.

House must act first

The flood-relief bill must pass the House first because it is bonding legislation. It then would be sent to the Senate.

"It's very clear that we could not wait much longer," said House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis. "Folks have homes and businesses that are gutted to the studs. They don't have heating. They have issues with employment. We don't want to make that any worse."

The $150 million to $160 million will be in addition to $24 million of the $31.8 million in state funding that Pawlenty freed up last week through executive order. The proposed package includes $121 million for southeastern Minnesota -- $34 million in cash, $60 million in general obligation bonds and $26 million in trunk highway bonding, according to figures released by the House DFL caucus.

Heavy rains deluged the southeastern corner of Minnesota three weeks ago, causing flash flooding that killed seven people and caused at least $67 million in damage, a figure likely to rise considerably.

While the great majority of the money will go toward southeastern Minnesota flood relief, there will be additional money for other regions affected in what has generally been termed a "disaster package." Those regions include Browns Valley and Crookston, which were hit with flooding, and portions of Cook County, where wildfires caused damage.

In addition, there will be some money directed toward the Interstate 35W bridge collapse because legislative approval is needed to release about $57 million in federal disaster money.

The bill will address appropriations from various state agencies, including money to repair state and local highways and bridges, property-tax abatements, grants to address anticipated drops in school enrollments in cities such as Rushford, and money for child care and nursing homes.

Pawlenty's announcement followed weeks of negotiations in which he and legislative leaders dickered over the agenda for a one-day session.

On Monday, flanked by top House DFL and GOP leaders, Pawlenty said the cost of the package should be divided between the state's cash on hand and long-term borrowing. Much of the borrowing would be directed toward long-term infrastructure projects, which traditionally use bonding for financing, said Pawlenty's finance commissioner, Tom Hanson.

Pogemiller displeased

Earlier in the day, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, sent Pawlenty a frosty letter saying that he would not stand in the way of a special session that included borrowing, but did not see the need for it when the state has more than $300 million in surplus funds.

Pogemiller said he also did not understand Pawlenty's decision last week to redirect the $31.8 million in budget appropriations to flood relief. Calling that decision "unwise," Pogemiller said the more fiscally conservative approach would be to tap the surplus first.

Two sides drifted apart

After the I-35W bridge collapse, Pawlenty and legislative leaders had signaled an intent to come together on an array of funding needs, including a comprehensive transportation package and increased funding for aid to local governments. But as the weeks wore on and the southeastern Minnesota floods occurred, the factions seemed to be drifting further apart on the parameters of a special session. Senate DFL leaders expressed frustration after it became clear that a transportation package would have to await the 2008 legislative session, which will begin in February.

"We continue to be pretty disappointed that we are not going to be able to deal with road and bridge safety and the needs for police and fire for our communities around the state. That seems to have eluded us and that's really too bad," said Assistant Senate Majority Leader Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud.

Pawlenty allowed himself a smile when asked if he might consider additional special sessions to address the other needs before February.

"There is a great and understandable sense of urgency related to flood relief," he said. "Had we had to wait until we resolved a tax bill or a transportation bill, that would have impeded the timely delivery of this flood relief package."