(ST. PAUL) – The Senate Capitol Investment Committee will begin touring the state next week. The tour will start on Tuesday, September 10 in Becker, MN. They will stop in Grand Rapids, Cohasset, and Chisholm later that same day. The tour continues through Thursday, September 12, stopping in various cities in the northland, including Minnesota’s historic iron range and the northern exurbs.

“We’re excited to see a variety of projects this year; from clean water, community colleges, natural resources, and transportation safety projects across the state,” said Capitol Investment Chair, Senator Dave Senjem (R- Rochester). 

In even years the focus of the legislative session is what’s known as the bonding bill. The bonding bill is comprised of necessary wastewater and infrastructure needs, statewide and regional interest projects, or beneficial economic improvements in cities and communities across the state. The Capitol Investment Committee is tasked with assembling the bonding bill.  

The amount of bonding dollars available is determined by the budget forecast from Minnesota Management and Budget.  Bonds need to be paid back over a 20-year period.  Over the last 15 years, the average General Obligation bond authorization in bonding bills for even years has been $698 million.  At this time, the current forecast includes the debt service necessary to pay for $755 million in GO debt issued during the 2020 session and all of the state’s other outstanding debt.   The legislature can borrow more than the forecast allows, but then additional general funds are required to pay for the debt service for the bonds.  Given current assumptions, it would cost over $500 million of general fund dollars over the next two biennium to pay for a $3.5 billion bonding bill.  Also, to put this in perspective, it has been estimated for every $100 million borrowed, it costs around $143 million to pay back over 20 years. That means the current forecast of $755 million in GO bonds would cost about $1.08 billion over 20 years. A $3.5 billion bonding bill would cost $5 billion over 20 years to taxpayers.

Unlike most bills, which require a simple majority to pass, bonding bills require a three-fifths majority of votes in both the House and the Senate to get to the Governor’s desk. 

See the 2019 bonding projects and planned tour stops here.