Oct 7, 2005 12:25 am US/Central
Gophers Football Stadium Gains Momentum
St. Paul (AP) ―
A Gophers football stadium could headline a possible fall special session if it happens, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and top lawmakers said Thursday.
In fact, the University of Minnesota arena could be the only issue on the agenda. Consensus on a list of other items -- including a Twins ballpark, a Vikings stadium and a Maple Grove hospital -- eluded leaders during 90 minutes of talks in the governor's office.
"Unless I hear otherwise from legislators, the consensus point now is only the Gopher stadium," Pawlenty told reporters after the meeting. "I think it's worth doing. I wish we could agree on more."
The Republican governor said he aims to decide by the middle of next week whether to call a special session this fall. The top four legislative leaders said they will take the stadium and other matters back to their caucus members to gauge support, and report back to the governor within a few days.
Pawlenty has repeated often that he will call a special session only if it's short, productive and orderly. The governor has sole power to call legislators back to the Capitol before their next regular session, which starts March 1.
After a bruising legislative process that lasted almost seven months this year and led to an unprecedented partial government shutdown, political leaders want to keep things clean this time around.
A fall special session should be "one day, no pay," said House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon. He and Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar, said they would encourage legislators not to claim daily expenses during a fall special session.
"For the Legislature to be successful, it would have to be a narrow agenda," Sviggum said.
University stadium backers have been pushing hard for a vote on the $248 million project this fall. Financial contributions from TCF Bank and Best Buy Co. reach their expiration dates before next year's regular session starts, and some lawmakers don't want to vote on stadiums just months before the November 2006 election.
The university wants the state to cover 40 percent of the stadium's cost.
"To keep momentum going and maintain nearly $40 million in private funding commitments, we need this bill passed as soon as possible," University President Robert Bruininks said in a prepared statement Thursday afternoon.
Johnson didn't rule out a vote on a Twins ballpark in downtown Minneapolis but said it wasn't the highest priority on the list. The Twins and Hennepin County want lawmakers to authorize a local sales tax to help pay for a $478 million project in downtown Minneapolis.
Other potential agenda items include a new hospital in Maple Grove, an ailing Minneapolis teacher pension fund, transportation funding, the possible repeal of a law setting a minimum gasoline price, and constitutional amendments dealing with marriage and environmental conservation.
Sviggum said every agenda item beyond the Gophers could make a special session less likely because of added potential for controversy.
"It just opens up the session to more games being played," he said.
To hold a special session to one day, two-thirds of the members of both houses would have to vote to suspend normal procedural rules.
House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, DFL-St. Paul, emphasized that a fall special session isn't a fait accompli. He said it turns on the support of rank-and-file lawmakers, many of whom don't want to come back to the Capitol this year.
Most Senate Republicans oppose a special session, but if called back, many would like to vote on Gophers and Twins stadiums, said Senate Minority Leader Dick Day, R-Owatonna.
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