Pawlenty says no to major DFL bills

DFLers retreated on several fronts Tuesday, making concession after concession to persuade Gov. Tim Pawlenty to sign some of their big budget bills, to no avail.

Instead, Pawlenty roared back with stern language, a veto of the health and human services bill "about five minutes after it reached my desk" and a promised veto of the higher education bill, which he dismissed on Tuesday as "underwhelming, uninspiring and devoid of reforms."

In both cases, DFLers had already removed offending provisions, including the Dream Act, which would have offered in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

"We made many concessions to get the governor's signature," said Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, moments after Pawlenty vetoed the $10 billion health and human services bill.

On transportation, meanwhile, where DFLers had hoped to pull off a dime-a-gallon gas tax increase for ambitious road investments, legislative leaders told conferees on Tuesday to pare back their sights, possibly dropping the tax increase back to a nickel.

House Transportation Finance Chairman Bernie Lieder, DFL-Crookston, said that "we've made significant concessions," at the behest of leaders.

No specifics were divulged, but Sen. Jim Carlson, DFL-Eagan, said a House-Senate compromise would call for at least a 5-cent-a-gallon increase.

No overall agreement

The latest developments follow an earlier Pawlenty veto of the state government finance bill even after DFLers had abandoned domestic-partner benefits. DFLers did manage to elicit Pawlenty's signature on a modest public safety measure last week, but only after he had demanded and won another major concession: elimination of a controversial insurance provision that had heavy backing from DFL leaders in both bodies.

In what is rapidly becoming yet another staredown, Pawlenty served notice on Tuesday that he would not be maneuvered into bill-by-bill negotiations.

"The Legislature must articulate an overall plan for revenues and expenditures," he said in his health and human services veto letter. "A complete budget picture is vitally important to setting priorities and determining reasonable spending levels. We do not have such an agreement at this time."

Without an overall budget agreement, Pawlenty could find himself backed into a corner in which DFLers present him with a needed K-12 education bill and a megasized tax increase to pay for it and no money left to negotiate with.

"They are charging ahead with bills that are unacceptable to us," Pawlenty told reporters.

The mounting tension could make for an icy breakfast meeting Thursday, when legislative leaders are scheduled to meet with Pawlenty at the governor's residence. Assistant Senate Majority Leader Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, called Pawlenty's attitude "a little disappointing and somewhat insulting," describing him as "the park bully."

The breakfast, she said, appears to be little more than a "photo op," at which she expected little progress. "At some point he has to say something besides no," she said.

DFLers control the House and Senate by wide margins, but still need a handful of Republican votes to override any vetoes, and on that thin reed, Pawlenty has taken an increasingly resolute stand against DFLers on both budget and policy fronts.

Higher-ed hopes dim

The House passed the higher-ed bill Tuesday night, by a vote of 85-46, despite Pawlenty's promised rejection.

The bill, which allocates $3.1 billion during 2008-09 for the University of Minnesota, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and other higher education institutions, passed the Senate easily earlier in the day, by a vote of 44-21.

Already stripped down from earlier versions, the bill would provide students some relief from rising tuition costs, take a step toward controlling college textbook costs and require college freshmen to take a crash personal finance course.

A House proposal to freeze tuition was dropped, as was a Senate plan to hold down tuition through $93 million in income tax increases.

Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, the chief Senate sponsor of the bill, noted that the latest bill spends $40 million less than the governor's own proposal for 2008-09.

But Pawlenty said the spending grows substantially in 2010-11. He also complained that legislators failed to adequately fund his program to provide rigorous college coursework for rural high school students.

According to Pappas, the additional higher education money -- $361 million in 2008 and 2009 -- would help the university's Twin Cities campus to limit its tuition increases to 2 percent in 2008 and 5 percent in 2009. Increases at other University of Minnesota campuses would be less. The Morris campus would even see a tuition reduction, Pappas said.

The bill also provides $500,000 to get a handle on soaring college textbooks costs. That measure, among other things, would require publishers to disclose enough information to help students and faculty members make cost-conscious book buying decisions. In a further effort to help students with their finances, the bill requires state colleges and universities to give incoming freshmen information about personal finance, including consumer credit.

Environment bill survives

An environment and natural resources bill survived Pawlenty's wrath Tuesday, winning his signature but only after he used his veto pen to strip several appropriations, including $1 million a year for a rural policy center at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

The pared-down transportation funding bill will be approved by House-Senate negotiators today, legislators said Tuesday, but the reductions directed by leadership have made for some hard feelings.

Asked about the changes as he left a committee meeting on Tuesday, Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, snapped, "it's not my bill."

Patricia Lopez • 651-222-1288