Local lawmakers pledged they will do their best to bring home some bonding money when the next Minnesota legislative session begins Jan. 24.
But Sen. Roger Reinert, DFL-Duluth, tried to keep expectations in check at a roundtable discussion organized Sunday afternoon by the Duluth League of Women Voters.
“A lot of the Tea Party folks who were recently elected are very opposed to borrowing of any kind, so I’m not overly optimistic. I think any bonding bill could be quite small,” Reinert said.
He also pointed out that the session, which is slated to end April 30, will be relatively short, making it more of a challenge to get much done.
Still, Reinert said he will go to bat for about $4 million in bond money to rehabilitate and restore West Duluth’s Wade Stadium, plus another $6 million sought for a proposed multimodal transit center at the site of the US Bank parking ramp in downtown Duluth.
The funding can’t come soon enough for Rep. Kerry Gauthier, DFL-Duluth, who noted that Minnesota has the unfortunate distinction of being one of just four states in the nation that remain in a technical recession.
“We need to put people back to work,” he said.
Besides supporting the city of Duluth’s bonding requests, Gauthier said he’ll also be backing a $7 million request for bonding money to construct an American Indian Learning Resource Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Rep. Mary Murphy, DFL-Hermantown, said she believes UMD has a genuine shot at funding, depending on the total size of this year’s bonding bill. The University of Minnesota Board of Regents decided to include the project in its 2012 state capital request after leaving it off the list last year.
Murphy said she’ll also be pushing for increased port funding, as well as money for roads and bridges.
Gauthier said improving the state’s transportation network would create jobs and address a need for critical infrastructure that’s especially important to Northeastern Minnesota.
“We have thousands of miles of trunk highways that are falling apart,” he said.
Several legislators also voiced support for funding requested to address housing needs.
Pam Kramer, executive director of the Duluth Local Initiatives Support Corp., said $10 million in general obligation bonds is being sought to make improvements to the state’s stock of aging public housing, plus another $30 million in revenue bonds to address the issue of homes that recently have undergone foreclosure.
Rep. Tom Huntley, DFL-Duluth, expects a raft of constitutional amendments to be proposed by Republican lawmakers during the upcoming session as well. But he said those efforts could backfire.
“The more amendments they propose, the better, because I think the public can understand a message that says: Just vote no,” Huntley said.
Gauthier said one reason so many constitutional amendments are being floated is because they are immune to gubernatorial veto. “It’s a great vehicle to bypass the checks and balances that are in place.”
But Murphy contends lawmakers should be careful about using the state constitution as a vehicle.
“The Constitution is too precious to be used as a tool for political gain,” she said.
Some of the prospective constitutional amendment ideas that have come forward include requiring a supermajority vote of three-quarters in order to raise taxes; placing new limits on future legislative spending; including a right to bear arms clause in the state and U.S. constitutions; defining marriage as between a man and a woman; and requiring photo IDs for voters.
Murphy, Gauthier, Huntley and Reinert all oppose the marriage amendment that will be going to a statewide referendum vote next November.
“I think the state should get out of the marriage business and just do civil unions,” Huntley said.
As for modifying the state constitution to require voter IDs, Huntley said only a miniscule number of fraudulent ballots are cast in Minnesota each year. “It’s basically a solution in search of a problem,” he said.
Huntley suggested the legislation is politically motivated, saying: “It’s aimed at minorities, seniors and college students. And guess who they usually vote for?”
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