Bonding impasse puts security upgrades on hold
Minnesota lawmakers’ failure to resolve a bonding bill this year has put in limbo a $26.2 million plan to upgrade physical security in the state Capitol complex.
Members of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security highlighted the funding issue Tuesday during a meeting that also included discussions about a recent intruder incident in the House Chamber and an update of preparations for an active shooter situation.
Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, said he hopes the committee can influence the special session negotiations underway among the governor and top legislative leaders.
“It shouldn’t be a bargaining chip,” Ingebrigtsen said. “We’re talking reality here. This is happening right around us, and we have to put away our politics and get this stuff done.”
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Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, who left the meeting early to attend the latest round of special session negotiations, said she planned to push the security issue there
“It’s the least that we can do for the people that work for us and for the people of Minnesota that come to visit us for their business,” Smith said
None of the regular session versions of the bonding bill contained the full amount sought by state officials.
Chris Guevin of the Department of Administration warned that the costs of the security upgrades will increase by $2 million every year they are delayed.
The committee received a brief overview of the security incident that took place two days after the regular session ended, when a Minneapolis man entered the Capitol construction zone through an unlocked door and reached the House Chamber. He taped several handwritten notes to walls and stuck a knife into a desktop.
The man was charged with burglary and with making threats of violence.
Rep. Dan Schoen, DFL-St. Paul Park, said the incident showed it was a mistake to hold the 2016 session inside the Capitol during its renovation.
“We’ve got to make sure that these things don’t happen,” Schoen said.