Dayton wants to borrow $1 billion

Pitching it as a jobs stimulator, Gov. Mark Dayton is proposing a $1 billion borrowing bill with an unusual $470 million hole for Republican lawmakers to fill in with their own building projects.

"This is about putting Minnesotans back to work," the DFL governor said Monday. In addition to hundreds of "shovel-ready" projects across the state, the proposal includes funding for civic centers in Rochester, St. Cloud and Mankato, a nanotechnology center at the University of Minnesota and a St. Paul Saints baseball stadium.

Dayton's proposal continued slowly erasing former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's legacy. Many of the projects Dayton supports were vetoed by the Republican former governor last year.

Dayton backed up his assertion that his proposal would create 28,000 jobs by referencing congressional testimony on research that supported his numbers.

But neither the research nor Dayton's invitation to Republicans to add their own pet projects warmed GOP leaders to the proposal.

"Taxing and borrowing cannot be Minnesota's answer to a recession," said Deputy Senate Majority Leader Geoff Michel, R-Edina.

Republican lawmakers said they would give Dayton's proposal an airing but were not inclined to pass a massive borrowing bill this year.

Creating jobs?

By tradition, the Legislature tackles big borrowing bills in even-numbered years and deals with the state's budget in odd-numbered years. Republican lawmakers said that with a $6.2 billion deficit looming, now is the wrong time to take out the state's "credit card."

Dayton countered that, with thousands of Minnesotans out of work and the tanking of the construction industry, the time is right for state dollars to stimulate building projects.

"This billion-dollar bill is another important jobs initiative," Dayton said. "I ask the Legislature to move quickly to pass this bill. Every day delayed is another day when unemployed Minnesotans are left sitting, rather than working."

Michel expressed doubts about the proposal's job creation capabilities.

Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, has introduced some bills for projects in his area this year but says those are just placeholders for next year.

"This is not the year for bonding," Davids said.

Davids said Dayton's invitation to have the Legislature submit $470 million in projects is "not workable," given legislative committee procedures.

Sen. Keith Langseth, a Glyndon DFLer and former chair of the Senate bonding committee, said he could work with the fill-in-the blank approach.

"This bill is a good start. ... However, this is only half a bill. The governor invited legislators to provide an additional $469 million to round out a bonding proposal. I intend to take him up on this offer," Langseth said.

Dayton's proposal fulfills a campaign promise -- and fulfills some long-dormant wishes.

Last year, the University of Minnesota requested $53 million to build its new physics and nanotechnology lab. While Pawlenty supported the proposal, the Legislature funded other University projects and the lab was not built.

This year, Dayton proposed borrowing $51 million for the new facility, which would include 40 specialized research labs and space for 200 faculty, students, and visiting researchers.

U of M President Robert Bruininks said the new building would provide the "backbone of cutting-edge teaching and research."

Dayton also gave the Twin Cities some reason to cheer.

In addition to the stadium for St. Paul's Lowertown, Dayton also proposed $8 million to renovate the aging Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.

Within minutes of the announcement, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman applauded the ballpark proposal, saying it puts his city "one step closer to building a community facility that will bring visitors from across the state together in celebration of America's favorite pastime, baseball."

Coleman added that such a facility would host not only the minor-league team, but also high school tournaments. He pegged economic growth from a new ballpark in Lowertown at about $10 million annually.

Minneapolis, which has some separate, renovation plans for the Target Center, would have to match the state's $8 million with $8 million of its own. St. Paul would have to provide $25 million for the new Saints ballpark.

But some bonding-backers want more.

Even before Dayton unveiled his ideas, the longtime lawmaker had introduced a bonding bill of her own. The pricetag? Just shy of $1 billion.