politics

Facing increasing political pressure from fatigued and mud-soaked residents of southeastern Minnesota, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the state's legislative leaders agreed on Monday to convene a one-day special legislative session at the State Capitol today to pass a $150 million to $160 million disaster relief bill.

Pawlenty called the special session for 5 p.m. DFL and Republican legislative leaders pledged to get the job done within one day on an agenda narrowly focused on flood relief.

"We anticipate crisp floor action," Pawlenty said in announcing the special session.

The flood-relief package, which was still being tweaked Monday evening, would use a combination of cash and borrowed money to finance home and business loans, debris clean-up and infrastructure repairs in the flood-damaged area, which includes seven counties in southeastern Minnesota that have been declared federal disaster areas.

If the bill passes, money could be flowing within days, weeks or months, depending on the program, Pawlenty said in announcing the agreement.

Other funding, such as for infrastructure and road and bridge repairs, could take months to finalize, he acknowledged.

As governor, Pawlenty, a Republican, is the only one who can call a special legislative session. Once it is called, though, only the Legislature can determine when it ends and what the agenda might be.

Both the House and Senate DFL majority leadership pledged to stay on task, and minority leaders in both chambers said they would keep their caucuses disciplined as well.

House must act first

The flood-relief bill must pass the House first because it is bonding legislation. It then would be sent to the Senate.

"It's very clear that we could not wait much longer," said House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis. "Folks have homes and businesses that are gutted to the studs. They don't have heating. They have issues with employment. We don't want to make that any worse."

The $150 million to $160 million will be in addition to $24 million of the $31.8 million in state funding that Pawlenty freed up last week through executive order. The proposed package includes $121 million for southeastern Minnesota -- $34 million in cash, $60 million in general obligation bonds and $26 million in trunk highway bonding, according to figures released by the House DFL caucus.

Heavy rains deluged the southeastern corner of Minnesota three weeks ago, causing flash flooding that killed seven people and caused at least $67 million in damage, a figure likely to rise considerably.

While the great majority of the money will go toward southeastern Minnesota flood relief, there will be additional money for other regions affected in what has generally been termed a "disaster package." Those regions include Browns Valley and Crookston, which were hit with flooding, and portions of Cook County, where wildfires caused damage.

In addition, there will be some money directed toward the Interstate 35W bridge collapse because legislative approval is needed to release about $57 million in federal disaster money.

The bill will address appropriations from various state agencies, including money to repair state and local highways and bridges, property-tax abatements, grants to address anticipated drops in school enrollments in cities such as Rushford, and money for child care and nursing homes.

Pawlenty's announcement followed weeks of negotiations in which he and legislative leaders dickered over the agenda for a one-day session.

On Monday, flanked by top House DFL and GOP leaders, Pawlenty said the cost of the package should be divided between the state's cash on hand and long-term borrowing. Much of the borrowing would be directed toward long-term infrastructure projects, which traditionally use bonding for financing, said Pawlenty's finance commissioner, Tom Hanson.