x
Breaking News
More () »

Construction bonding bill draws diverse support

Supporters of the public works construction bill, known in Capitol parlance as the bonding bill, represent a wide array of interests. For example, union construction workers and university students both held rallies Tuesday, with the common bond being bonding.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Support for the public works construction bill, known in Capitol parlance as the bonding bill, comes from many corners of the state and a wide array of interests.

On Tuesday, for instance, union construction workers rallied at on the front steps as part of "Building Trades Day" while students from all five University of Minnesota campuses held their annual "Support the U Day" rally in the Rotunda.

The one common link between the college students and people in the yellow union vests is that they both stand to gain from the bonding bill. Issuing bonds for capital improvement projects is one of the few ways the State of Minnesota can legally take on debt, which is then repaid over decades.

The restoration of the State Capitol Building is the most recent example of a high-profile project financed with bonding, but those public works projects come in all shapes and sizes.

Both the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, or MNSCU, rely heavily on the bonding bill. Much of the requests from the campuses fall into a category known as HEAPR, Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement.

"And we like to say 'HEAPR is cheaper,' because it’s just a whole lot more sensible to repair the buildings and infrastructure you have rather than let them decay to the point where they have to be replaced," University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler told KARE.

It would come as no surprise the people hired to do the work have a keen interest in how things progress with the bonding bill.

"Our members are always finishing jobs and looking for new ones," Adam Duininck of the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, told KARE.

"And so more projects available in the public sector, as well as what’s happening in the private economy, that’s what helps keep our union strong and our middle class thriving."

The size of this bill is always hotly debated, and this year will be no different.

Gov. Mark Dayton is seeking roughly $1.5 billion, while Republican legislative leaders want to keep the final tally below $1 billion. The Capital Improvement committees in the House and Senate have spent the past year mulling applications, and touring many of the sites.

The students and construction workers fanned out across the Capitol complex looking for their representatives, in hopes of having a conversation about bonding and other issues that affect them. Will they make an impression on lawmakers?

"I think it makes a huge impact," Duininck remarked. "What we tell our members is that it's good to have an ongoing relationship, where they see you here, but they also see you at the grocery store, at church or in the community."

Kaler agreed the students can make a real impact.

"They are the actual embodiment of the future of Minnesota."

Before You Leave, Check This Out