Pawlenty rejects transportation plan

02/22/2008

By PATRICIA LOPEZ
Star Tribune
Last update: February 22, 2008


Gov. Tim Pawlenty wasted no time today vetoing a $6.6 billion transportation bill that had passed the House and Senate yesterday and landed on his desk just before midnight.

By early afternoon, Pawlenty rejected the bill, calling it an "overreaching, massive tax increase that will further burden Minnesotans during already difficult times."

DFLers, who control the House and Senate, said they plan to attempt an override as soon as Monday, although their ability to succeed in the House is far from certain.

The bill passed in the House, but fell one vote short of the supermajority needed to override a veto and even those Republicans who voted for the bill were uncertain whether they would face off against their governor.

Pawlenty's spokesman, Brian McClung, said Friday that if legislators want to "stand with the governor and millions of average Minnesotans" who oppose further tax increases, "then we ask them to uphold the veto."

Minnesota has gone 20 years without an increase to its 20-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax. The transportation bill would raise that tax 8.5 cents over the next five years, using the proceeds to repair roads and bridges across the state.

But McClung said that the bill "is much more than a gas tax. It's a gas tax and a sales tax and a license fee tab tax and a new excise tax and a car rental tax."

At a time when Minnesotans are paying $3 per gallon for gas, he said, "this is a bill that goes way, way too far."

In addition to raising the gasoline tax, the bill would increase the seven-county metro area sales tax by an extra quarter cent for transit and would allow outstate counties to hold a referendum on a half-cent option.

McClung said that allowing a referendum for outstate voters but denying it to metro voters was unfair.

Override attempt coming

Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Mpls., said the veto was "no surprise," and said that Pawlenty had "taken himself out of this issue" by his steadfast refusal to raise taxes. Pawlenty has offered to consider a nickel-a-gallon increase, but only if it were accompanied by tax cuts elsewhere.

McClung said that given the bleak economic outlook and a state budget deficit on the rise, the time could not be worse to raise taxes. Elected officials in Washington, he said, had just passed a stimulus plan to send rebate checks and "here in Minnesota, they're passing massive tax increases and taking that rebate check out of the hands of Minnesotans before it even gets in the mail."

Pogemiller said the Senate is prepared to attempt an override shortly after the House. Pawlenty, he said, "has not really shown true, genuine openness to putting together a transportation bill."

Standing in the marble hallway just outside the governor's office shortly after the veto was announced, Pogemiller said that "I hope his [Pawlenty's] concern about overburdening the poor and needy extends to his budget document."

Pawlenty has told his office to prepare for budget cuts when the state's economic forecast is released next week.