May 1, 2006 8:27 pm US/Central
Tax Committee OKs Ballpark Bill With Referendum
St. Paul (AP) ―
Senate Tax Committee members lined up unanimously Monday behind a referendum on the Hennepin County sales tax that would pay the lion's share of a Twins ballpark.
But neither supporters nor critics of the Twins plan expected the vote to be the final word. The committee has endured a topsy-turvy five days of deliberations and is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday for further action.
"I don't know what tide is moving here, it's more of a whirlpool," said Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat.
The 12-0 vote -- seven DFLers and five Republicans -- left many observers scratching their heads. Just last week, the House approved a $522 million stadium plan that doesn't require public consent to enact a 0.15 percent sales tax.
Twins Sports Inc. president Jerry Bell said he remains nervous about the team's ballpark chances after 10 years of legislative heartbreaks. But, he said, "We haven't seen the end of this process."
Bell said a referendum will kill the ballpark bill because the team won't agree to move ahead if one is required. He said the uncertainty over the outcome and added delays aren't acceptable to the Twins.
Dann Dobson, a St. Paul attorney who has led a group opposing the stadium sales tax, said he was heartened by the committee's vote, but doubtful the decision will stand.
"If it holds it will be great for taxpayers," he said. "My concern is it's just for show at this point."
The Senate committee has been dealing with three stadium bills -- for the Twins, Vikings and University of Minnesota -- since Thursday. None have been approved yet.
A plan for a Gophers on-campus stadium has twice failed on a 6-6 vote. On Monday, Committee Chairman Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, resurrected a 13 percent merchandise tax to pay the state's share of the university stadium. He removed it last week after the bill failed.
Earlier in the day, the Senate defeated a Republican attempt to pull a different Gopher football stadium bill directly to the floor.
The Republicans want an up-or-down vote on the companion bill to one the House previously approved.
On the professional stadiums, the outlook is murky.
The Tax Committee expects to vote Tuesday on a new proposal to raise the sales tax throughout the seven-county metropolitan area. The half-cent tax on every taxable dollar sale would help pay for the Twins and Vikings facilities -- both with retractable roofs -- and for transit projects.
Sen. Steve Kelley, DFL-Hopkins, said the broader sales tax is preferable to one only placed on Hennepin County for the Twins and Anoka County for the Vikings.
But it would be deemed a state-imposed tax, which could be veto bait given Gov. Tim Pawlenty's no-new-tax pledge.
Opat said the predicament the Twins proposal now faces makes it critical that Pawlenty speak up and make his intentions known. Pawlenty has said he favors a referendum, but won't stand in the way if the final bill lacks one.
"He needs to say he supports our proposal," Opat said.
A spokesman for Pawlenty didn't immediately return messages.
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The Metrodome opened in 1982.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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