Governor Walz Unveils $2.7 Billion Projects Plan

Emphasizing the need to "maintain and renew existing assets," Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan revealed a $2.7 billion dollar capital improvements plan Tuesday, January 18. Standing outside the future refurbished Institute for Child Development at the University of Minnesota, Walz said, "For Minnesotans to know, this is your property. These are assets that belong to the people of Minnesota, and keeping them and modernizing them, making them accessible to all Minnesotans, and making use of technology to make them more energy efficient and tackle the issue of climate change, that is what the bonding bill does."

Of the nearly $3 billion dollar proposal, 38 percent is dedicated to asset preservation; 21 percent to infrastructure improvements--including funds for bridge replacement, road and water infrastructure upgrades--16 percent for housing, 14 percent for community projects, especially ones that improve communities of color.

Senate Capital Improvements Chair Tom Bakk suggested that the House of Representatives vote on Governor's proposal, since the state constitution requires bonding bills to pass the House. If the Governor's plan fails in the House, he suggested legislators work on a bipartisan basis to pass a bill that garners the necessary three-fifths vote in the House and Senate.