Via the West Central Tribune, Bill Salisbury reports in Likely agenda for 2016: Pass bonding, go home:
The typical bonding process starts in May of an odd-numbered year, such as this one, when Minnesota Management and Budget issues instructions to state agencies and local governments on how to request funds. The agencies and local entities must submit their wish lists by mid-June.
In July, Management and Budget hands over the preliminary requests to the Legislature. The House and Senate bonding committees spend the summer and fall touring the state to get a “hands-on, up-front look at the projects,” said House Capital Investment Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska.
But until then, it doesn't sound is if Torkelson's going to be working very hard as chair, regardless of what the senate and the Governor want:
Dayton said he plans to propose an $850 million bill this year — an unusually large amount for an odd-numbered year — if a late February revenue forecast shows a substantial budget surplus. He said that wouldn’t prevent him from calling for another big bonding bill in 2016.
But his request won’t go anywhere if the new House Republican majority doesn’t approve it. So far, Torkelson said, Republicans haven’t decided whether to pass any bonding bill this year.
“In the grand scheme of things, we don’t have to have a bonding bill,” he said. “The state will not shut down if we don’t pass one, and many of my colleagues have very little interest in bonding.
“I believe we would have a better product if we take more time to vet the requests.”
Dayton said the projects he will propose already have been vetted but failed to receive funding last year. About half the money, he said, would go to state colleges and universities that have been “chronically underfunded,” especially for repairing and maintaining facilities.
Stumpf, the Senate bonding chair, said other facilities that have been “short-changed” for repairs and improvements include prisons in St. Cloud and Stillwater, the St. Peter security hospital and many state parks. . . .
We're curious where the House Republican's professed and passionate interest in greater Minnesota has gone, since most of Stumpf's list is in the outstate. Perhaps off cavorting with Torkelson's diminished work ethic.
But Salisbury suggests there may be consequences to Torkelson's lollygagging:
The Legislature usually also passes smaller “emergency” bonding bills in even-numbered years. During the past 10 years, the “big” bonding bills averaged $800 million, while the smaller bills came in at $220 million.
Since 1983, the Legislature has passed a bonding bill every year except 2004. That fall, Republicans who controlled the House lost 13 seats after DFLers accused them of running a “do-nothing Legislature.” They came back in 2005 and passed a large bonding bill.
Thirteen seats? Sounds like a recipe for a takeback.
Photo: Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska). via Facebook. It's blurry.
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