Minnesota legislators split over construction funding bill as session draws to a close

Minnesota lawmakers remain divided over the size of a construction project borrowing bill this year, with an infusion of federal dollars adding to the uncertainty.

Sen. Tom Bakk, I-Cook, said Friday he does not think there will be a "breakthrough" on a public infrastructure bill before the session ends Monday. Bakk, the Senate bonding committee chairman, suggested a $240 million bill along with the $179 million infrastructure investment from the federal government. House Democrats are pushing a roughly $1 billion package.

"We're probably a little out in front of our skis with getting a larger bill together," Bakk said. "There's just much we don't know about the federal money."

The House must vote on a bonding bill before the Senate. Rep. Fue Lee, DFL-Minneapolis, told the Ways and Means Committee on Friday they should take advantage of the low 2.4% interest rate to make investments, including repairing Twin Cities communities damaged by unrest. "It's almost a year now and those businesses are still struggling to build back up," Lee said.

The House committee's vote on Lee's proposal was split along partisan lines. Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, said the bill would not get the supermajority needed to pass on the House floor. "We just passed a massive bonding bill last October," he said. "A little bit of fiscal discipline isn't going to hurt anybody."

Jessie Van Berkel