With one week remaining in the legislative session, Republicans in the Minnesota House are proposing an 800-million-dollar bonding bill for state public works projects — about half of what Governor Mark Dayton requested. Rochester Senator Dave Senjem says the bill is too large to pass the Senate, but it’s a starting point and he and his House counterpart, Grove City Republican Dean Urdahl, have talked with Governor Dayton. Senjem says, “I think he [Dayton] is willing to work with us on it, and so I’m optimistic at this point. We’ll see. But it feels good.”
The bill includes significantly less for the U-of-M and state colleges and universities than those institutions requested. Almost one-third of the bill — about 250 million dollars — would go for roads, bridges and rail crossing improvements. Critics say that takes money from other important projects and should be handled in a separate transportation bill.
House Republicans’ bonding proposal includes 70 million dollars to upgrade the Minnesota Security Hospital in Saint Peter. It also would provide about 115 million dollars for various water and sewer projects, plus three-and-a-half million dollars for the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System in southwest Minnesota.
Governor Mark Dayton wouldn’t say what he thinks of the House proposal, but respects what House Republican bonding bill point-man Dean Urdahl is trying to accomplish. Dayton says if Urdahl can get the bill passed on the House floor, “then we get into conference committee and we’ll see how it comes out from there.”