Pawlenty may call special session

08/03/2007

DFLers say a special session and gas tax might be needed to deal with the bridge collapse and backlogged road projects.


By Patricia Lopez and Mark Brunswick,
Star Tribune
August 02, 2007


The aftermath of one of America's worst bridge collapses has Minnesota legislators calling for a special session, re-inspection of bridges, joint state House and Senate hearings and a possible revival of a vetoed gas-tax increase.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, said the House and Senate will hold joint hearings this month to review bridge inspection records and other information on the condition of Minnesota's 20,000 bridges.

"Getting to the bottom of what happened is our top priority," she said.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is considering calling back legislators for a special session but has yet to decide, said spokesman Brian McClung.

Kelliher said that huge repair costs alone could trigger a special session, since the federal government is expected to require the state to put up at least 10 percent of rebuilding costs.

Because the bridge was the most heavily used in the state, crews may work overtime to speed repairs in an effort to defy an initial estimate that the span won't reopen for at least 18 months. By next August, Minneapolis must be ready to host the Republican National Convention, which will draw tens of thousands to both downtowns.

Members of Congress already have asked for $250 million in federal funding, which would require $25 million from the state.

Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Steve Murphy, R-Red Wing, said that rebuilding the bridge and removing debris from the river is likely to cost far more. "I would be surprised if we get it cleaned up and replaced for anything less than $300 million," said Murphy, who also heads the Senate finance committee's transportation budget and policy division. "It could be a half-billion."

No one pointed fingers Thursday, but legislative leaders are expected to mount a spirited attempt to raise revenues to cut the state's $1 billion backlog in infrastructure upgrades.

The prospect of a special session has been a point of tension between the governor and legislators since the regular session ended in May with Pawlenty's veto of a gas-tax increase to fund transportation and transit.

Pawlenty had offered $2 billion in long-term borrowing to cover road and transit improvements, while DFLers insisted on a pay-as-you-go method that would have raised the gas tax and other fees. Both proposals failed.

Kelliher said the backlog can no longer stand. "If that means we need to raise the gas tax, we are prepared to do that," Kelliher said.

Dick Day, R-Owatonna, of the Senate Transportation Committee, said, "A lot of people might be saying that if we had a 10-cent a gallon gas-tax increase that the bridge wouldn't have collapsed. I think that's pretty arrogant."

Rep. Ron Erhardt, R-Edina, the lead Republican on the House Transportation Committee, shared Kelliher's call for a legislative investigation.

Said Erhardt, a former Transportation Committee chair: "My concern is that Pawlenty takes care of this issue but doesn't take care of the problem."

Concerns over the Minnesota Department of Transportation's inability to keep up with mounting repairs has been growing. Earlier this year, leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 5 testified at the Capitol about cuts in bridge inspectors.

The problem "is that MnDOT is broke," Council 5's Elliot Seide said at the time.