Pawlenty to sign bonding bill

Gov. Tim Pawlenty signaled Wednesday that he'll approve a major statewide public works effort, after DFLers made concessions to fund his priorities with no assurances that he'll approve their projects.

Pawlenty said he can "work with" the Legislature's latest borrowing bill for construction projects -- an indication that he will use his authority to trim projects from the measure rather than veto the entire bill.

But at $1 billion, the bonding bill remains roughly $300 million larger than the governor had sought. The DFL-led House and Senate are poised to pass the legislation Thursday, and Pawlenty could trim specific items by the end of the week.

"The bonding bill incorporates most of our key priorities," Pawlenty said. "It's still too large, but it's a bill we can work with. We'll just have to slim it down."

After the governor threatened to veto an earlier version in its entirety, legislators reconstructed the bill, adding projects that he wanted and cutting funds for some he didn't.

Sen. Keith Langseth, DFL-Glyndon, and Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, acknowledged that there was a risk in making the concessions without knowing how many projects could get sliced from their bill.

But they said there was no chance for a deal otherwise because the governor wouldn't agree to limit his line-item vetoes in exchange for concessions. They said it's likely the entire public works bill would have been killed or delayed without the changes.

Hausman said the House does not have the votes to override line-item vetoes by Pawlenty.

Still, she said, it was "very good news to me and to thousands of out-of-work Minnesotans that the governor says he will sign this bonding bill."

Quick action was sought

DFLers came into the legislative session last month insisting that work on the measure needed to be completed early to get construction and other jobs into the pipeline quickly. They feared that a protracted battle with Pawlenty would delay that effort.

DFLers may have removed one major stumbling block to Pawlenty's approval by meeting him halfway on expanding the sex offender facility at Moose Lake. Pawlenty had said he wanted $89 million for that project. The Legislature's latest version includes $47.5 million.

Also on Wednesday, program officials provided some details in response to a Star Tribune request for a cost breakdown of the project. Among the disclosures, the administration wants to buy 12 outdoor benches for more than $700 each, 10 stools costing $400 each and three natural wood file cabinets for $946 each.

The governor said he has asked officials to figure out exactly what can be built with the $47.5 million to house the civilly committed sex offenders. "I've told them to focus on building additional containment space as opposed to the infrastructure," he said.

In addition to concessions on Moose Lake, DFLers included funding for several projects that Pawlenty demanded but didn't get in earlier versions of the bill. They provided more than $9 million to renovate the Veterans Home in Minneapolis and more than $10 million for construction at Oak Park Heights prison.

DFLers also agreed to cut $44 million from their earlier requests for construction in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.