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Tim Pugmire
St. Paul, Minn.

Vote expected this week on revamped bonding bill

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DFL legislative leaders say they expect to vote this week on a revamped bonding bill.

House and Senate negotiators put together a $986 million package last week that includes several projects that Gov. Pawlenty said were priorities. But the amount included to expand the Moose Lake sex offender treatment facility was $53 million less than what Pawlenty requested, and the Republican governor still wants a bill closer to $725 million.

Still, DFL House Majority Leader Tony Sertich said the ball is now in the governor's court.

"The bonding bill, the conclusion of that is very easy right now," Sertich said. "All of the governor's major priorities are included in the bill at this time. This could be done literally within a day if the governor would just tell us what he does not like in the bill, and be very specific about that."

The governor's chief negotiator told DFL leaders that a veto of the bonding bill is still possible, without full funding for the Moose Lake project.

An earlier version was pulled back after its passage because Pawlenty said he would veto the entire package of construction projects. DFL leaders have put several key Pawlenty projects in the bill, but it's still more than $200 million larger than the governor's target. Republican Senate Minority Leader David Senjem said he's not sure if the latest bill will get signed.

"I think the governor still had to have his projects, but he also had to have his number or close to it," Senjem said. "So they're half way there, but probably haven't met the number goal that the governor is going to be happy with."