Bill includes funding for Riverland roof

By Maria Herd, news@albertleatribune.com

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton introduced an $842 million public works bill on Tuesday expected to create over 23,900 jobs statewide.

Riverland Community College is the highest priority for improvements in Freeborn County. Under the proposal, Minnesota State University and Colleges campuses will receive a total of $140 million to improve facilities, $2.2 million of which will be allocated to Riverland in Albert Lea.

“There are a lot of campuses in desperate need of repairs and improvements,” Dayton said.

Judy Enright, physical plant manager with Riverland, said the funding would go toward roofing a majority of the campus buildings in Albert Lea. An additional $1.6 million would go toward roofing of Riverland buildings in Austin.

Other notable statewide investments include $12 million in grants to assist communities with business development, $50 million in housing projects, $2.5 million for historic preservation, $61.4 million for correctional facility improvements and $24.1 million toward waste and sanitation facilities.

In promoting his list of preferred projects, Dayton struck back against the notion that the Legislature’s plate is too crowded before the session ends May 18 to craft a borrowing bill and a two-year budget. Majority House Republican lawmakers say they are reluctant to pass a construction package this year, creating a high hurdle for a bill that requires three-fifths votes to pass.

Dayton’s administration said 43 percent of the proposed projects benefit Greater Minnesota, 38 percent fall in the seven-county metropolitan area and 19 percent are deemed to have statewide significance. The plan would require $78 million in state debt payments over the next two years and more into the future.

If lawmakers don’t pass a bill this year, Dayton said those with projects at stake shouldn’t bank on seeing them in a plan he produces for consideration in next year’s session.

Project requests throughout the state amounted to $1.9 billion this year, yet less than half of those requests were included in the current draft of the bill.

However, it’s not too late for projects that didn’t make it into the proposal.

Dayton encouraged legislators to speak up and collaborate on the priorities of proposed projects. The state Legislature will vote on the jobs bill in the next six weeks.

“I’m wide open and flexible to negotiate with Republicans and Democrats on both sides of the aisle,” he said.

According to Dayton, some state House Representatives have voiced disapproval of the jobs bill and would like to scrap it altogether.

“Why wouldn’t we take advantage of this budget efficiency we have right now and make improvements to the state?” he said.

Last year, state improvement requests amounted to $3 billion. Dayton guarantees there will be over $4 billion in requests next year if this bill is not passed.

“Greater Minnesota has a great stake in this bill going through,” said Dayton. “It would be tragic to walk away from it.”

House Capital Investment Committee Chairman Paul Torkelson said the GOP budget proposal doesn’t include room for extra debt payments and his panel doesn’t plan to adequately scrutinize projects until after legislators adjourn for the year. House Speaker Kurt Daudt, the Legislature’s top Republican, wasn’t swayed by the governor’s nod to low interest rates as a reason to act now.

“I don’t think interest rates will be that much different this year than they will be next year,” Daudt said.

Senate Capital Investment Committee Chairman LeRoy Stumpf, a Democrat, wouldn’t close the door on passing a borrowing plan.

“The infrastructure of the state is in need of money to keep everything in shape,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, another Democrat, said he’s contemplating a package with a narrower focus and lower price tag. Bakk stressed the Senate’s top priority is crafting a budget — a bonding bill is more of an afterthought.

“That’s not the real work of this session,” he said.

Minnesota lawmakers typically consider a tailored bonding bill in budget-setting sessions but hold off on a large plan until the election year. Dayton’s bill is far larger than others adopted in odd-numbered years. That said, the Legislature has declined to approve a general borrowing bill of some size only twice in the past 32 years.

 

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.