ST. PAUL — A scaled-down House GOP bonding bill proposal leaves out funding for Mayo Civic Center and the 65th Street interchange in Rochester, but a work force center relocation in Rochester would get $3.1 million in a plan released Monday night.
The House Capital Investment Committee will hear the bill and make adjustments before it's sent to the floor for a vote. A hearing date has not been set.
This year's proposal is less than half of DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's $775 million bonding proposal. The GOP seeks an overall $280 million public works bill focusing primarily on asset preservation at the state's higher education institutions, correctional facilities and local road and bridge improvement. Another $220 million is included for preservation work at the state Capitol.
The Stewartville Fire Department expansion was included in the bill. The House plan seeks $485,000 for improvements. Members of the committee toured the fire station last fall as they looked at proposals.
The Hormel Institute's bonding request was also included Monday. The bonding bill includes a recommendation for $9 million for the International Center of Research and Technology at the Hormel Institute. It's less than the $13.5 million that's included in DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's proposal. The total cost of the project is $29.4 million.
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Austin’s Port Authority is seeking $13.5 million in state bonding money to build a 56,000-square-foot addition to the institute for 15 research labs and technology space. It would create an estimated 120 well-paying jobs and support a new cancer research partnership with Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
Dayton highlighted the project as part of his $775 million bonding proposal.
There isn't a Senate version of the bill yet. However, Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, has said the Hormel Institute has a strong shot at getting passed.
"It just rises above so many others from the standpoint of something that is really genuinely good for Minnesota," he said last week. Senjem’s opinion is significant given that he is chairman of the Senate Capital Investment Committee, which will craft the Senate’s bonding bill proposal.
Details of the Minn. House Republican bonding bill
The Associated Press
Here are some highlights of building and construction projects included in the Minnesota House Republican's $280 million bonding proposal unveiled Tuesday. The numbers in parentheses are the amount Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton proposed for the same projects. House Republicans also proposed $220 million in bonding to renovate the State Capitol:
— University of Minnesota system building and renovation projects: $39 million (Dayton proposed $78 million)
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— Minnesota State Colleges and Universities campus projects: $56 million (Dayton proposed $112 million)
— Department of Natural Resources projects: $21 million (Dayton proposed $56 million)
— Minnesota Zoo dolphin tank renovation: $5 million (Dayton proposed $7 million)
— Construction of a State Emergency Operations Center in Arden Hills: $2 million (Dayton proposed $26 million)
— Transportation projects including local bridge replacements, local road improvements, transit and airport infrastructure: $39 million (Dayton proposed $74 million)
— Department of Corrections projects: $14 million (Dayton proposed $54 million)
— Local projects to boost employment and economic development in communities statewide: $46 million (Dayton proposed $165 million)
— Minnesota Historical Society projects: $3 million (Dayton proposed $3 million as well)
