Bonding Part 2 stalls

By Judy Erickson, Government Relations Director

Unfortunately, despite efforts by Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-St. Paul) and Sen. Keith Langseth (DFL-Glyndon), a second, smaller bonding bill never materialized in the 2010 legislative session. The budget impasse took precedence and there simply wasn’t the opportunity or political will to put one together.

Parks & Trails were in discussions and contact with key legislative leaders right up to the end of the session. The commitment from the Legislature, Sen. Keith Langseth (DFL-Glyndon) and Rep. Hausman, the chairs of the respective Senate and House Capital Investment Committees, is to bring forward the vetoed projects at the beginning of the next legislative session for immediate passage.

A total of $21.4 million for state trails faced the wrath of the governor’s line-item veto in March. They include: the Blazing Star, Brown’s Creek, Casey Jones, Cuyuna Lakes, Gateway, Gitchi-Gami, Glacial Lakes, Goodhue Pioneer, Heartland, Luce Line, Mill Towns, Minnesota River, Paul Bunyan and the Shooting Star state trails.