Legislature passes bonding bill

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ST. PAUL -- Republicans blasted a public works funding bill as being too

expensive, but as the Minnesota House and Senate passed a revised

measure Thursday a Democrat was the most critical of a bill written by

his party members.

Rep. Al Juhnke, DFL-Willmar, complained about "the smelly underbelly of

this bill," saying that legislative leaders violated their own rules

when they gave money to a Minneapolis Veterans' Home expansion project

and skipped over one in Willmar.

"At the end of the day, it becomes very easy, for some reason, to say

yes to a $28 million project in Minneapolis and say no to a rural

Minnesota veterans mental health facility," Juhnke said in an

impassioned speech to fellow representatives.

The House passed the bill 89-44, with the Senate following 49-17. Gov.

Tim Pawlenty says he will erase individual projects from the bill, but

has yet to say which ones.

Originally, Republican Pawlenty suggested a $685 million public works

bill, funding things ranging from repairing state buildings to helping

fund civic and sports centers in some communities. The bill the

Democratic-control Legislature passed is just short of $1 billion.

Pawlenty has three days from the time the bill arrives on his desk to

make decisions on what to cut.

Thursday's votes are the second for the two chambers. After the first

public works bill passed, legislative leaders held onto the bill so

further negotiations could proceed. However, public works negotiators

said Pawlenty would not sit down with them, so they added his priorities

and went ahead with the revised version.

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