A lot’s happened since my last post — namely, the passing of a bonding bill in both the House and the Senate — a bill Governor Pawlenty said is too big. Then, yesterday, the governor line-item vetoed more than $200 million worth of projects before signing the bill. This is a slight mish-mash of the past week in bonding land.

The Star Tribune has a thorough story. Something I found particularly interesting:

Pawlenty's $717 million total was smaller than what had been anticipated resulting from a line-item veto. In a generally accepted formula, state guidelines recommend that borrowing be limited to 3 percent of projected general fund revenue, a limit that makes the debt more acceptable to bonding houses. That figure was $825 million. Pawlenty said he cut additional projects anticipating a continuing downturn in the economy.

According to the Pioneer Press, St. Paul took 60 percent of the cuts, including $127 million for a Central Corridor light-rail line, a new Bell Museum of Natural History at the U of M's St. Paul campus and a gorilla exhibit at the Como Zoo.

He also cut $2 million from the Union Depot transit hub, which is a historic St. Paul building I am personally in love with, and $4 million for a St. Paul-to-Chicago high-speed rail (which is something that utilized the said Depot back in the day).

"Reducing the bill to this level reflects my commitment to fiscal discipline and an attempt to prioritize important state projects," Gov. Pawlenty wrote in a press release.

The Legislature could override any of the vetoes.

Before the vetoes, Governor Pawlenty and DFL legislative leaders had a few words for one another:

According to the Star Tribune:

Pawlenty said DFLers were "falling right into the stereotype" of raising taxes and out-of-control spending.
"It's not appropriate, it's not responsible and I'm not going to stand for it," Pawlenty said.

However, yesterday DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller said this on Minnesota Public Radio's "Midday":

"He's upset because some of his pet projects, his pet spending, is being cut. In terms of revenue, other than closing corporate loopholes, no one is talking about significant tax increases here. He has to get off the campaign trail and come back and govern the state of Minnesota."

(I would call the relationship between the DFL legislators and Gov. Pawlenty less-than-amiable right now.)

And to update an earlier post, a bill for later bar hours during the Republican National Conference was dropped, so that’s a no-go.