The $200 million state building projects bill unveiled Monday by House Capital Investments Committee chair Alice Hausman is definitely a stripped-down model. No local projects were included -- not even the proposed new Bell Museum that would rise on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota, in Hausman's own district.
Even at this flood-conscious moment in state history, flood mitigation projects were held to $12.7 million, about half the sum dedicated to that purpose in the Senate's version of the bill.
Hausman made clear that she would have preferred a larger bill. But she believes she's sacrificing size for speed. This bill ought to win Gov. Tim Pawlenty's explicit support and his push through conference committee to early passage. The recession compels haste. Hausman says her bill is full of ready-to-build projects that can put out-of-work Minnesotans back on payrolls in a matter of weeks after the bill's enactment.
This year, the bonding bill should not be held hostage to other matters, or otherwise used as a political tool. It's a jobs bill, and it should become law ASAP.
