Final votes coming on $1B Minn. construction bill

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - About two weeks into the 2010 session, the Minnesota Legislature is prepared to pass one of its signature bills: A finance plan for state-backed construction projects.

Leaders of the House and Senate planned to hold final votes Monday on a public works plan. They hope to funnel more money into the pipeline ahead of this year's construction season and give idled hard-hat workers a lift.

The roughly $1 billion bill is considerably larger than an outline Pawlenty presented. Democratic leaders say they hope the governor will use line-item vetoes if he wants a smaller plan rather than take the entire package down.

The bill relies on the sale of long-term state bonds so it has minimal effect on the $1.2 billion budget deficit lawmakers are currently trying to fix.

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