Governor Mark Dayton says he will *not* sign a transportation funding bill that Republicans are getting ready to send him because there’s not enough money for Metro Transit bus service, and Republicans went back on what they said about allowing Southwest Light Rail. The governor says, “I want a transportation bill. We can get to one, if they will square up with what Metro Transit needs and with what they promised me.” House transportation point man, Hanka Republican Paul Torkelson says about Metro Transit funding, “We’ve already come a long ways on that issue and we’ve had to reduce the amount of money going to roads and bridges to accomplish that.” Torkelson says going further would cause the bill to lose votes — but says he’s “still very optimistic” that agreement can be reached with the governor.
Here are the governor’s comments on the transportation bill from his Thursday media avail:
Torkelson’s response: