MN Senate committee approves $1.9 billion infrastructure package

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Bill Salisbury, Pioneer Press
·1 min read

A Minnesota Senate committee approved a massive, $1.9 billion infrastructure package Friday, sending it to the Senate floor for final votes — even though the DFL majority does not have the Republican votes they need to pass it.

The package would finance millions for local road and bridge repairs, sewer and water systems, upgrading college classrooms and improvements to state parks, trails and flood-control structures around the state.

The Senate Finance Committee basically approved two bills passed by the House on Monday — a $1.5 billion measure to be paid for by selling general obligation bonds and a $392 million cash appropriation to fund other projects.

Senate Capital Investment Committee Chair Sandra Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, said the package reflects an agreement among DFL senators and House members of both parties on state public construction projects for the next two years.

But Republican senators have not agreed to the deal and DFL senators need at least seven GOP votes to reach the two-thirds supermajority required for bonding bills.

Senate Republicans have repeatedly said they want a bonding bill but won’t vote for one until the Democrats who control state government repeal state taxes on Minnesotans’ Social Security incomes.

Despite the lack of an agreement, Pappas said the Senate would take up the infrastructure bills soon, perhaps as early as next week.

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