Caledonia Argus

Ventura cuts millions from bonding bill

Posted: 5/28/02

by T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter

Gov. Jesse Ventura has vetoed some $356 million worth of projects from bonding bill recently passed by the Legislature.

ìAlways remember theyíre not dead ó I just delayed them until the Legislature does their job,î said Ventura, speaking from the Governorís Office on May 22.

In good conscious he couldnít ìrun our credit card up,î said Ventura.

ìIf they fixed the budget completely like the one I offered in January, the bonding bill would be a lot higher,î Ventura said.

The Legislature is to blame for the trimmed bonding bill because legislators tried to balance out the bonding bill cuts, he said.

Ventura cut about $100 million in higher education bond projects, about $44 million in natural resource projects, $31 million in arts projects ó including $24 million for the Guthrie Theater ó and about $47 million in transportation projects.

This includes $13 million for the statewide public safety radio system.

Another area to feel the scratch of the Ventura veto pen is trade and economic development ó about $69 million worth of line-item vetoes.

Included in this category is $30 million for wastewater infrastructure grants and $12 million in Greater Minnesota business development grants.

Though the administration during bonding bill negotiations with lawmakers circulated a list of bonding projects potentially at-risk of veto, Ventura spokesman John Wodele explained that the vetoes were not a form of retaliation against intractable lawmakers.

ìNot at all,î said Wodele. ìItís good public policy,î he said.

But Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, DFL-Erskine, a gubernatorial candidate, called Venturaís actions ìunconscionable,î saying such petty, vindicative politics should have no place at the Capitol.

The projects found in the bonding bill had been intensely scrutinized, Moe explained.

ìThey just donít show up. They survive a brutal test,î he said. If elected he would forward a supplemental bonding bill, said Moe.

Though reducing the bonding bill by about a third, some $500 million in capital projects remain.

Included in the list is $60 million for the joint Health Department/Agriculture Department lab in St. Paul, $20 million for the Northwest Metro Busway, $45 million for local bridge repair and renovation, and some $95 million for MnSCU and University of Minnesota asset preservation.

Lesser items include $6 million for metro region parks and $4 million for residential expansion at Lino Lakes Correctional Facility.

Besides the line-item vetoes in the bonding bill, Ventura also vetoed the Pledge of Allegiance bill that mandated the recitation of the pledge in schools and charter schools at least once a week.

Certain opt-out provisions were found in the bill.

But Ventura had indicated heíd veto the bill for weeks, saying patriotism comes from the heart, not the mind.

ìThe United States of America exists because people wanted to be free to choose. All of us should have free choice when it comes to patriotic displays,î said Ventura in a letter.

Ventura did sign the Twinsí stadium bill, the Internet privacy bill, and the anti-terrorism bill on Wednesday, along with other bills.

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