Session starts with a bang and bonding (updated)

Ah, bonding. That biannual borrowing of cash for state buildings that attracts lobbyists, longing and long nights.

Folks wanting projects won't have to wait long to begin the tussle.

The Minnesota House Thursday, the first day of session, release its borrowing proposal. The chair of the House bonding committee, Rep. Alice Hausman, was technically correct in saying the bill is "just under $1 billion," the difference is a rounding error: the bill came in at $999.8 million.

Here's the spreadsheet of the projects in the House bill.

The Senate plans to release its spreadsheet of projects later Thursday.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty last month proposed a bonding bill that borrowed $685 million. Here's the spreadsheet of his projects.

One of the glaring differences between the House and the governor's bills (other than their sheer size)? Pawlenty wants to spend $89 million to expand a sex offender program at Moose Lake. That project seems to be missing from the House bill.

Update:

Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung snarkily dismissed the Legislature's bonding efforts on Twitter.

"The DFL's sales pitch is just a ShamWow, a Snuggie and a set of Ginsu knives short of $1 billion," wrote McClung, who tweets here.

(Of course, you already knew that because you are following me on Twitter here, right?)