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Capitol View®
Tim Pugmire

Seat belt provision removed from transportation bill

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The Minnesota House and Senate will take action today on two of the smaller pieces of the state budget.

Conference committees met over the weekend to reach agreements on a transportation bill and an environment and energy bill. Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, a member of the transportation conference committee, said the compromise bill preserves current funding for the state patrol and capitol security, erases a Metro Transit operating deficit and keeps the Department of Transportation running. He said the Senate's primary-offense seat belt provision was removed from the bill, but the issue remains alive. Hornstein said a stand-alone seat belt bill is one committee away from a full vote of the House.

"It's our view that the House ought to vote on it up or down, not part of an omnibus bill," Hornstein said. "And that's our intention to do this year, assuming it gets through the committee structure."

Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, a member of the environment and energy conference committee, said he thinks Gov.Tim Pawlenty will sign that bill after negotiators removed objectionable language on chemical regulation. Hansen said the bill cuts $60 million across all state environmental agencies, but keeps priority programs intact.

"We're choosing for those things where we can have people putting projects in the ground, putting people to work and doing things on the landscape that are going to help out water quality and help out people out there," Hansen said.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher said she expects action early this week on the bills funding agriculture and veterans, economic development, public safety and state government. All budget and tax bills must be out of conference committees by midnight Thursday.