Talk of special session is still just that

Five weeks after a major bridge collapsed and three weeks after floods ravaged southeastern Minnesota, a special session of the Legislature to deal with the dual tragedies remained just out of reach Friday.

Absent a larger accord, Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced plans to spend $31.8 million on emergency flood aid and suggested that he and legislative leaders were within hours of reaching an agreement on a one-day special session to spearhead more spending.

Using his executive authority to redirect money from the existing state budget, Pawlenty will tap funds from a half-dozen state agencies for the package. The money will be reallocated from existing appropriations.

Earlier Friday, Pawlenty had expressed hope that he could call a special session as early as Tuesday, but that possibility had faded by Friday evening.

Pawlenty's commissioners and legislative staff members met in the afternoon to review a framework for dealing with bridge and road reconstruction, business grants, infrastructure rebuilding and public safety that had been proposed Thursday by legislative leaders.

But after several hours of discussion, the meeting quietly disbanded, with plans to return to the table Monday morning. It's possible any package would involve about $100 million in flood relief.

Pawlenty's Friday morning news conference to announce his executive appropriation was delayed for several minutes, raising expectations of a possible backroom deal. The governor apologized as he entered, explaining that his office was busy putting the finishing touches on a letter.

His staff then distributed the letter to legislative leaders. It suggested that a special session could quickly be called, possibly after a few more hours of negotiations.

"I will continue to assert that a special session would be helpful," Pawlenty said. "I believe one should take place. I'm prepared to call one as soon as the agreements necessary to properly focus it and contain it are in place."

What legislative leaders say

But Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, objected to Pawlenty's proposal that the state sell bonds for some of the reconstruction rather than use cash.

Pogemiller said the state should use $370 million in current state coffers to cover only flood relief issues. He maintained the position even though Pawlenty's latest proposal dangled the possibility of bonds to help rebuild the collapsed Interstate 35W bridge, which is in Pogemiller's district.

Earlier in the week, Pogemiller and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, told Pawlenty in a letter that they supported a one-day session to deal with flood relief and the bridge, but that any proposal should not include borrowing because "there is no need to burden a future generation with more borrowing."This should be a flood session. Let's do cash. Let's move on," Pogemiller reiterated Friday.

Late Friday, though, Kelliher, who toured southeastern Minnesota this week, signaled an interest in bonding, saying that all strategies should be used to get help on the ground as quickly as possible. "This was forward motion today," she said.

Pawlenty's executive package includes $16 million from the Minnesota Housing Finance Authority to be used for loans for damaged homes, new construction and for mortgage down payment assistance; $5.2 million from the Department of Employment and Economic Development to local governments to rebuild public and private facilities, and $4.6 million from the Department of Natural Resources to repair trails and roads.

"The predictable question or potential criticism will be that this isn't enough," Pawlenty said. "That's true. This is simply a step we believe will be helpful in providing additional relief to the region."

Mark Brunswick • 651-222-1636

Mark Brunswick • mbrunswick@startribune.com