House DFL unveils bonding, cash plan for projects
Democrats in the Minnesota House are proposing a two-bill approach to provide about $975 million in public construction projects.
They unveiled an $850 million bonding bill today along with a separate bill to use $125 million in budget surplus money for some of the projects on their list.
The list was whittled down from more than $3 billion in requests and includes projects for higher education, transportation, housing, economic development, water and wastewater systems. One large item is $51.5 million for the Bell Museum and planetarium at the University of Minnesota.
Rep. Alice Housman, DFL St. Paul, chair of the House Capital Investment Committee, said she wanted a bigger bonding bill.
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“There’s one word to describe this bill,” Hausman said. “I’ll say more positive things later, but I think the one defining word is inadequate. There are many areas in this bill that don’t reach the level that we need to. But it’s a work in progress.”
The bill to spend surplus cash includes money for the ongoing state Capitol renovation, but only $20 million of a requested $126 million.
Republican votes are needed to pass the bonding bill, which requires a super majority. Democrats could pass the separate appropriations bill with a simple majority.
Rep. Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, said it was premature to make any commitments.
“We would like a bill that half of our caucus could vote for,” Dean said. “It’s something I think that we could work towards. But I think we have not seen the bill before today.”
Dean and other Republicans want to keep the two-year bonding total below $1 billion. Lawmakers passed a $154 million bonding bill last session.
Hausman’s committee will hold hearings on the two bills Wednesday.
Here's the spreadsheet on the bonding portion of the proposal.