After an initial veto threat sent the House and Senate approved bonding bill into legislative limbo, the Governor met with Democrat leaders and began negotiations. A deal was eventually struck. The sticking point appeared to be funding the governor wants for expansions to the Moose Lake sex offender treatment facility. The legislature left that out of the bill they passed, prompting the governor’s veto threat.

 

The bill has been referred back to a conference committee, where, the governor’s demands are being met in part, in order to stave off a veto of the entire bill. Pawlenty will likely instead use the line item veto authority to trim the bonding bill down to around $750 million, leaving in his pet projects. $47.5 million has been approved for the Moose Lake facility. The Governor’s not yet said which spending items he will cut.