politics

After huddling for hours behind closed doors with legislative leaders, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Wednesday that a special session to deliver flood relief to southeastern Minnesota and bridge funding is now "likely" and could be held in mid-September or earlier.

"We reached some general understanding of the need for a special session," Pawlenty said. "I think it's headed in the right direction."

Only the governor can call a special session, but only legislators can decide when to end it.

In a private letter sent to legislative leaders Tuesday, Pawlenty had laid out an agenda centered on flood relief, a "limited bonding bill" for roads and bridges, property tax relief and a comprehensive transportation package that could include "a reasonable gas tax increase."

The governor had said in an earlier letter that he wanted the gas tax increase to be temporary and offset by income tax reductions for low- and moderate-income wage earners.

That would mean less money for the state's general fund, used primarily for education and health care.

DFL leaders appear ready to accept at least some of those conditions.

In a letter released Wednesday during the meeting, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, said they would agree to focus on the items Pawlenty had outlined earlier, including a transportation package that "follows the principles" in his earlier letter.

After the meeting, however, the two emerged tight-lipped, saying only that "we're ready for the governor to call us back." They gave no details on the talks and would not take questions.

Pawlenty said Wednesday that he is not insisting that the gas tax be temporary or be offset by other revenue reductions. "It's just a concept," he said.

He acknowledged that he has gotten "some" pushback from Republicans for supporting a gas tax increase to deal with infrastructure deterioration symbolized by the Interstate 35W bridge collapse. "They're not all that excited about it," he said.

Earlier in the day, state Republican Party Chairman Ron Cary said that a gas tax increase should be a "last resort," and that the state had not yet done a thorough enough assessment of needs.

Senate Minority Leader David Senjem, R-Rochester, who has seen pieces of his southeastern Minnesota district washed away by the floods, said Wednesday that "the will is there" for a special session. "There is probably enough spirit and need to move the Legislature in that direction," he said.

House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, was more circumspect, with a note of caution to DFLers.

"If you want a special session to be speedy, don't be greedy," he said with a smile. If legislators expand their list of demands, he said, "that becomes more problematic."

Political pressures for a special session are bound to intensify as the scope of damage in flood zones becomes apparent. Pawlenty said that public infrastructure in some towns had been nearly destroyed, wiping out roads, sewers and sanitation systems.

Pawlenty said he has asked for an expedited presidential disaster declaration to trigger federal recovery funds. However, he said, the state would need to fill in with supplemental programs in order to get thousands of Minnesotans back on their feet.

Even with federal funding, he said, the state will have to put up 25 percent of the total recovery tab.