editorials

Encouraging words are too seldom heard at the State Capitol these days. But we picked up some this week from the legislators who lead the House and Senate capital investment committees. Both say it's not only desirable, but also entirely possible, for the Legislature to enact a bonding bill before March 1 next year. That would allow projects funded by the bill to take advantage of the full 2010 summer construction season.

Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, and Sen. Keith Langseth, DFL-Glyndon, are veteran lawmakers. They've learned the hard way that the Legislature's annual attempts to authorize construction projects are highly prone to complications -- political and otherwise.

But they've also become great believers in the economic good that an early, sizable and strategically crafted bonding bill can do. That shared conviction is behind the vows of bicameral cooperation and expedition they've been uttering as they wrap up their annual tours of prospective projects and prepare to assemble their bills.

Critics counter that the construction jobs that a bonding bill can generate often don't appear until two or more years after a bill is authorized. Historically, only about 15 percent of authorized funding is converted to somebody's paycheck in the year a bill is enacted.

But that's not true of the most recent bonding bills, says Hausman. The 2008 and 2009 bills were designed to put a priority on "shovel-ready" and "paintbrush-ready" projects. Bids have been let for more than half of the projects authorized seven months ago, she said.

Funding for ready-to-build projects will also be a priority this year, the two bonding chairs said. But they also are looking to fund projects that will aid in other ways Minnesota's recovery from the recession, and set the table for future prosperity.

That emphasis should favor projects of three types:

•Higher education. The emphasis should be on equipping the academic facilities in which students will be prepared for careers of the future and in which research will be conducted that can generate new industries.

•Transit. Both an aging population and the rising environmental and geopolitical cost of fossil fuels augur for new means of mobility. Transit improvements require long lead times. Their authorization should not be postponed.

•Water treatment infrastructure. Inadequate sewer capacity is hindering business expansion in several outstate communities, Hausman said.

On most money matters, the Legislature's work begins with a proposal from the executive branch. But with 55 years of legislative experience between them, Langseth and Hausman need not be so constrained. Gov. Tim Pawlenty's capital investment proposal is expected in mid-January. Hausman and Langseth should be able to bring bills to the House and Senate floor within days of the 2010 Legislature's Feb. 4 start.