Governor's opinions on bonding; Higher education conference committee to begin

Yesterday at the Capitol
The capital investment conference committee met yesterday and heard from Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson regarding Gov. Pawlenty's letter sent April 24. Commissioner Hanson reiterated that a $275 million bonding bill is too large, and emphasized that projects should be "shovel ready." The Governor has said he is not in favor of projects that build "new facilities." Attached, please find the Governor's letter outlining his bonding priorities, along with the latest spreadsheet with the House and Senate offers.

The higher education conference committee has indicated they will meet Wednesday, however the time is still to be determined. Rather than the traditional walk through of the side-by-side comparison of the two bills, the conference committee is expected to focus on the differences between the bills, beginning with a list of policy topics.

At the Capitol:
Legislative schedules are available for the House and Senate.