Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk said if a bonding bill emerges from the Legislature this year, it will be modest, despite Gov. Mark Dayton's proposal today for nearly $850 million in bonding for infrastructure and other construction projects.
"That's not the real work of this session," said Bakk, a Cook Democrat. "(Bonding) is generally done in the even-numbered years. The budget is our priority this session," he said. He acknowledged bonding bills in odd-numbered years but noted their modest size compared to even-numbered years.
House Speaker Kurt Daudt said today House Republicans have no plans on a bonding bill.
Any bonding would start in the House as instructed by the Constitution, Bakk said. In case the House Republican majority changes course, Bakk said he has instructed Sen. LeRoy Stumpf, DFL-Plummer, to prepare a potential bill that would include money for the universities, wastewater infrastructure, housing and local roads and bridges, among other areas. He said the Senate bonding proposal would likely be more than recent odd-numbered year bonding bills of about $150 million, but less than Dayton's proposal.
