Safe and affordable housing is the focus as Governor Tim Walz this morning (915am, Minneapolis) rolls out the first part of his bonding proposal for state public works projects. Minnesota governors usually unveil their entire bonding proposal at one time, but Walz is taking a different approach and will announce various components at different times. In coming days, expect proposals for water quality projects, higher education building construction and maintenance, and public safety facilities.
There are likely two strategic reasons for doing it this way: Each component probably gets more media attention than if it was just another part of one big bill. And because Republicans and Democrats differ so much this year on the total dollar amount, the Walz administration might be hoping that breaking the bonding bill into smaller chunks will give them an advantage in the court of public opinion — and hence in end-of-session negotiations.
The governor indicated Tuesday in Marshall that the total dollar amount of his bonding proposal will be “somewhere around” two billion dollars. That’s significantly less than the three-plus billion that House Democrats might propose — but a lot more than Republicans would like. Hallway talk at the Capitol puts their bonding number anywhere from 700 million dollars to 1.5 billion.