The $945-million price tag is a compromise between the $1-billion construction bill passed by the Senate and the House's $817-million version. Pawlenty had requested $816 million for construction. The state would borrow $886 million for the projects, with an additional $59 million coming primarily from user fees.
The legislature failed to pass a bonding bill last year. The stalemate contributed to the 2004 legislature's "do-nothing" reputation and the defeat of more than a dozen House Republican incumbents in the November elections.
The House and Senate are expected to vote on the bill early next week. Leaders of both parties predicted it would get strong bipartisan support. State colleges and universities are the big winners under the deal. They would get more than one-third of the money in the bill--$108 million for the University of Minnesota and $214 million for Minnesota state colleges and universities. Another $100 million is earmarked for environment and natural resources projects.
The biggest single project in the agreement is $85 million to expand the state prison at Faribault. It also provides $3.5 million to start work on a new high-security lockup at the Stillwater prison. The Minnesota Zoo is slated to receive $24 million for capital improvements, including more than $20 million for new exhibits. The Northstar Commuter Rail line from Downtown Minneapolis to Big Lake would get $37.5 million.
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