Priorities Planned As House Bonding Bill Advances
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- In a preview of the floor debate ahead, a Minnesota House committee has advanced a plan to have the state finance $1.1 billion in construction projects amid misgivings over priorities.
The plan combines cash financing and borrowing. The House Ways and Means Committee voted Tuesday to push the proposal a step from the floor.
Republicans have criticized the priorities in the Democratic-crafted plan and its exclusion of any money for the Lewis and Clark water project in southern Minnesota. They tried to shift funds from museum, ski center and other projects to the pipeline. The move failed on a party-line vote.
Partisan dynamics are crucial because Democrats need at least eight votes to pass a bonding bill due to a three-fifths vote threshold surrounding state-issued debt.
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