Local Projects Make State Bonding Bill, Passage Still Unclear
A July special session is underway at the Minnesota state Capitol. Among the unfinished business: a police reform bill and a bonding bill that would fund infrastructure projects across the state. A special session in June ended without a deal between leaders of the DFL-led House and Republican-controlled Senate.
Plymouth Creek Center remodel and expansion including in bonding bill
The Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee, by an 18-10 party-line vote, advanced a $1.8 billion bonding bill on Tuesday to the House floor. Rep. Lyndon Carlson, DFL-Crystal, chairs the influential committee. But the bill’s fate remains unclear. Its passage requires a three-fifths supermajority approval in the House and Senate. And even though leaders from both major parties indicate a deal is close, GOP lawmakers on the committee referred to the bonding bill as “a huge garbage bill.”
The bonding bill is seen as a way to fund critical infrastructure projects ranging from wastewater treatment facilities to police stations to state college laboratories. Authors of the bill say it could create 27,000 jobs. The bill also includes tax provisions meant to provide relief for small businesses and farmers.
“We are hard at work trying to address the extraordinary challenges Minnesota is facing right now,” House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, tweeted Thursday morning.
Northwest Suburban Projects in Bonding Bill
The bonding bill includes projects impacting the northwest suburbs in the CCX News viewing area. The following is a list of those local projects:
- Crystal – $4 million to build new police station
- Golden Valley – $6.5 million for Douglas Drive and Hwy 55 safety improvements
- Maple Grove – $3.5 million to expand North Metro Gun Range
- Maple Grove – $13 million for access improvements to Highway 610
- Plymouth – $5 million for Plymouth Creek Center
- Three Rivers Park District – $5 million for Mississippi Gateway Regional Park improvements in Brooklyn Park
You can see the full list of projects included here.
Brooklyn Park | Crystal | Golden Valley | Maple Grove | Plymouth
