Legislature ready for main dish

Talk about it

ST. PAUL – The meat of the 2008 Minnesota Legislature will be debated in the next few days.

The main reason for lawmakers being in session this year, funding public works projects across Minnesota, appears to be nearing votes in the full House and Senate. And a tougher task, filling a $935 million budget hole, also should receive votes.

But work remains on both issues, especially with legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Pawlenty working together to find compromises.

Pawlenty and Democrats who control the Legislature remain at odds over the public works bill, funded buy the state selling bonds. Legislative leaders want to spend $925 million, Pawlenty wants to cap spending at $825 million.

House and Senate leaders said on Friday that they may move ahead with the bill even without an agreement with Pawlenty.

House Majority Leader Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, said Pawlenty always can veto individual projects out of the bonding bill to lower it to the total spending he can accept.

“That’s a tool he, as governor, has been unable or reticent about using it,” Sertich said.

Sertich said policymakers like Pawlenty must make tough choices. “We can’t be Mr. Nice Guy, promising pizza to everyone on Fridays.”

When lawmakers are not debating the big issues – budget and bonding – they will take up some of the smaller 7,940 bills introduced during the current two-year session.

Tags: minnesota_news, legislature, budget, budget_debate