Mar 4, 2008 3:23 pm US/Central
Minn. Senate Approves $1B Borrowing Plan
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
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The borrowing bill sailed through the chamber on a 51-7 vote.
CBS
Anxious to give the state economy a boost, Minnesota senators hastily passed a nearly $1 billion borrowing plan Tuesday focused on construction at colleges, prisons, flood zones and other public property.
With minimal debate, the borrowing bill sailed through the chamber on a 51-7 vote. The bill authorizes the state to sell bonds for public works projects.
The House plans to vote Thursday on its own version. The goal is to have a common plan ready for Gov. Tim Pawlenty by March 15, allowing work to start on some projects yet this spring.
"The best time to build is during a recession," said Sen. Keith Langseth, DFL-Glyndon and the bill's chief sponsor. "We have many contractors now that are very hungry."
A mixture of building repairs and new construction on college campuses accounts for more than one-third of the total cost. The bill also provides money for civic center renovations, hiking trail upgrades, transit line expansions, landfill remediation, historic site preservation and a planned state Capitol restoration.
The bill doesn't contain the level of funding Pawlenty wants for the creation of a new state park in northeastern Minnesota and offers less for local road repairs than the governor proposed.
Amid concerns that the bill is too big, the Senate adopted an amendment that would spread out the bond sale to keep debt repayment costs in check. By tradition, Minnesota leaders don't let principal and interest costs to exceed 3 percent of the state's general fund spending; the amendment from Republican Sen. Betsy Wergin demands that the rule be followed.
The bill would permit the sale of $965 million in general obligation bonds. But it clears the way for even more construction than that because some projects require local or federal matching money.
Sen. Geoff Michel, R-Edina, said he thinks the bill's pricetag needs to come down 10 percent.
"It seems prudent for us to put this bill on a diet," he said. "We should not be making promises we can't keep."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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