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State Representative Leon Lillie
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-1188
For more information contact: Michael Howard 651-296-8873
NEWS COLUMN
Rep. Lillie on 2008 Bonding Bill
There has been a lot of financial talk lately about the bonding bill, but not much talk about what it actually is. The state legislature works on a two-year cycle. One year is a budget year and the other is a bonding year. We are currently in a bonding year, which means that one of our main tasks is to pass a bonding bill. Bonding is when the state sells bonds to raise revenue needed for important state and regional projects that expand, improve and maintain our state owned assets including our state colleges and universities, our environment, our sewer systems and many other important investments. The bonds are paid back over time with interest and are separate from the general fund and from other expenditures made from the state's budget.
The Minnesota House of Representatives passed an early version of the bill that offered about $950 million in proposed bonding projects throughout the state. Bond money pays for the bricks-and-mortar that go into approved projects. The 2008 bonding bill will help create up to 10,000 new, good-paying construction jobs across Minnesota. This is good news for our state's struggling economy.
Some of the top priorities in the House version of the bill are higher education, the environment and transportation. These priorities are reflected in our local area as well. If the current numbers stand when the final bill is passed, Century College will receive almost $8 million to complete projects in classroom and lab renovations along with science and library projects. The Gateway State Trail, an 18-mile long multiple use trail winding through Ramsey and Washington Counties, will receive $750,000. Another valuable asset to our local area and state is the Como Zoo. On any given day you can see dozens of school buses parked outside of the zoo and hundreds of school children inside happily learning about exotic and local animals. The zoo is a treasure to our community and is visited by over 2.5 million people every year. Previous generations were generous and thoughtful enough to fund the design and construction of the zoo and we will continue this great legacy of educational and cultural investment by providing $11 million for the zoo's animal habitat renovation.
The bonding bill also provides $50 million to repair and maintain bridges throughout the state.
A similar, but larger bill, passed through the Senate. The two bills are being reviewed in a conference committee where members are negotiating differences between the two. The committee is working hard to reach an agreement on spending amounts and projects and to forward this important bill on to the Governor.
Besides the obvious benefits of expanding our state colleges and universities, maintaining our parks and trails, securing our bridges and improving our cultural assets, this bill will put Minnesotans back to work. This is a well-balanced bill that will help take care of all of the things that make our state a great place to live.
Please feel free to contact me with questions and comments. It is important for me to hear from you so that I can accurately represent you. I can be reached by phone at (651) 296-1188, by mail at 353 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at rep.leon.lillie@house.mn.
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