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Tim Pugmire
St. Paul, Minn.

Minn. Senate to bypass Dayton's call for more public works spending

The end of the Lewis and Clark water pipeline
The end of the Lewis and Clark water pipeline sits within mere feet of the Minnesota border in Northwestern Iowa. A lack of federal funding for the project has stopped the pipeline from reaching communities in Southwestern Minnesota.
Jackson Forderer / For MPR News, File

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Despite Gov. Mark Dayton's call Wednesday night for passage of a $1.2 billion public works bill, Democrats in the Minnesota Senate are poised to roll out a smaller measure.

The Senate bonding chair, LeRoy Stumpf, D-Plummer, said he'll unveil a bill soon that sticks to the $846 million cap in spending that Republicans agreed to before the legislative session. But he said a proposal by Democrats in the House to also use $125 million from the state budget surplus is still open to negotiation. That would bring the total package to just over $1 billion.

DFL leaders have tried unsuccessfully to persuade Republicans to back a bigger bill. They could still fall short of the GOP votes they need to pass a bonding bill, if Republicans don't like the final list of projects.

Dayton, who unveiled a $986 million bonding proposal in January, now wants a bigger bill. During his State of the State message, Dayton urged lawmakers to pass the $1.2 billion bill in the remaining days of the 2014 session.

"There are other cities throughout Minnesota which need the state's financial support to complete key projects that will bring them new business, new jobs, new people and new economic growth," Dayton said. "Those job-creating projects will either be funded in this year's bonding bill, or they will lose out again. That decision is yours in the Legislature."

Related: Dayton pushes public construction projects

Related: Dayton: State investments require 'careful' approach

After Democrats in the House released a plan in March to borrow $850 million and use the $125 million in surplus cash, Senate leaders delayed releasing their proposal in hopes of persuading Republicans to back off the pre-session cap of $846 million.

Democrats need some Republican support to pass a bonding bill, since state borrowing requires a three-fifths majority vote. DFL Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, D-Cook, said he was going to press the point one last time with Senate Minority leader David Hann, R-Eden Prairie.

"I mean the governor made it clear yesterday he'd like to have a larger bill," Bakk said. "I have made a previous offer to Sen. Hann, something for his consideration in exchange for a larger bill. He indicated to me that he was going to take that to his caucus and haven't heard back."

Stumpf said the Senate plan he'll release will emphasize infrastructure.

"It's the asset preservation of our facilities," he said. "It's the road and bridges. It's the core pieces of our communities like wastewater and clean water and housing. Those are the things that we want to hold tight to as much as we can, because those are the things that drive economic development."

Stumpf said the Senate proposal will probably include funding for the state Capitol renovation, which has broad bipartisan support, in the cash allocation. Democrats could pass that separate measure with a simple majority - and wouldn't need GOP support.

But Hann warned the move would be a deal breaker.

"The Capitol building has got to be in the bonding bill," Hann said. "That's what we did last year. It's where it belongs. There's certainly room within an $850 million cap to do all the things we need to do, and I think the Capitol is one of the things we need to do."

Republicans also want the bonding bill to include the Lewis and Clark water pipeline project in southwestern Minnesota, an area they represent. Dayton highlighted the project in his speech but warned that it might not fit in a smaller bill. State Rep. Joe Schomacker, R-Luverne, supports the project. But he wouldn't say whether he'd buck his caucus and vote for a bigger bill in order to get it. Schomacker said he doesn't think he'll be forced to make that choice.

"I do not believe that a bill will come to the floor that doesn't have broad bipartisan support," he said.

House Speaker Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, said he supports the Lewis and Clark project too. But he said it won't be included unless enough Republicans agree to support a bigger bill.

"If they're not willing to actually step up for their communities and provide votes to pass a bonding bill, then they have to answer to their communities," Thissen said.

Once the Senate bill is out, House and Senate DFL leaders are expected to negotiate a final bonding bill with the governor.