Legislators give Chamber a foretaste of legislative agenda
During a presentation and question-and-answer session with the Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, Sen. Joe Gimse and Rep. Al Juhnke both said a bonding bill will be approved to help fund projects around the state.
Some of the local requests include funding for Willmar's $80 million wastewater treatment facility, a veterans home in Willmar, the Grass Lake restoration project near Willmar and a tourist center in Spicer to house an old military airplane that was raised from Green Lake.
Juhnke, DFL-Willmar, said there is nearly $4 billion in bonding requests but that the bonding bill would be about $1 billion.
Based on what Gov. Tim Pawlenty has told him, Gimse, R-Willmar, predicted the bonding bill would be $965 million.
Because of the current “rough spot†in the state's economy, Gimse said Pawlenty won't likely go much higher with the bonding bill.
Gimse said the governor will also likely keep the bonding money reserved for infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and wastewater treatment facilities.
He said Willmar's wastewater treatment facility is ranked eighth on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's priority list.
Gimse said he'll "advocate" for all the local projects but predicted they "will have a tough time" getting funding this year and may have to "take a backseat" to other state infrastructure projects.
The legislators said another attempt will be made to pass a transportation funding bill.
Pawlenty vetoed the transportation bill last year.
"We have a crisis in transportation funding," Juhnke said.
Juhnke said he expects the transportation bill to be tackled early on in the session and said it may include a gas tax, an increase to license tab fees and a sales tax for mass transit in the seven-county metro area.
Gimse said he would support a 5-cent gas tax and a metro transit sales tax only if taxpayers there got to vote on it.
Because 15 percent of Minnesotans use mass transit, Gimse said the bulk of transportation funding should go to roads and bridges, with less funding emphasis on mass transit.
Juhnke said he believes there will be one comprehensive transportation bill this year and "one chance" for legislators to vote on it.
On a lighter side, Juhnke said that if a light-rail commuter line ever is built between Willmar and the metro area, he and Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, will propose that it be called the Little Crow Line, which is a name that has historical significance for the area.
Reforming Minnesota's health care system to make it more affordable and more accessible and addressing illegal immigration through state action are other priority issues the legislators discussed.
In the question-and-answer session, Gimse and Juhnke were asked if it was necessary for local government entities to hire a lobbyist. The question referred to a recent decision by Kandiyohi County, the city of Willmar and the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission to hire Dean Johnson as a lobbyist to advocate for local projects, including the veterans home, wastewater treatment plant and Grass Lake project.
Johnson, a former senator and majority leader, was defeated by Gimse in 2006.
Gimse said he respects and will work with any lobbyist. "The door is always open," he said. He added that it was important that an organization or entity "hire someone you can trust."
Juhnke said having a lobbyist doesn't mean legislators aren't doing their jobs. He said there are 1,200 registered lobbyists in St. Paul who provide information to lawmakers on issues and help secure additional funding for their organizations and communities.
