A revised state budget if necessary, plus a bonding bill for state public works projects are the main tasks of the 2018 legislative session which begins today at noon. Governor Mark Dayton has proposed a 1.5-billion-dollar bonding bill, and says he limited his request. “1.5 billion [dollars] is a very responsible bill and it’s frankly inadequate for the scope of the needs,” Dayton says. Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt is talking about half that — 800 million dollars. “We’re open to discussions on less than that, or potentially more than that if the projects are right,” Daudt says.
Senate Republican Majority Leader Paul Gazelka says, “I’m open to a bonding bill. I thought it should be significantly less than a billion dollars, but what that number is, is part of the negotiation.” Gazelka says a bonding bill should focus on transportation and waste-water infrastructure.
Republicans need Democrats’ help to get enough votes to pass a bonding bill. House Democratic Minority Leader Melissa Hortman says the single most important thing lawmakers can do to create jobs is pass a “healthy-size” bonding bill. She says, “With interest rates low right now but definitely projected to rise,… we absolutely should borrow and build now.” Senate Democratic Minority Leader Tom Bakk says, “I’m gonna propose that we do a billion-dollar traditional bonding bill, and then we do an additional bill on maintenance.”