Published: June 2, 2006 Edition: METRO Section: NEWS Page#: 4B

Pawlenty signs near $1 billion bonding bill

By Conrad deFiebre Staff Writer A near $1 billion state capital investment bonding bill was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who praised it as "chock full of really good stuff." Pawlenty headlined a morning signing ceremony at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, which will get a $26.6 million state contribution in the bill toward a major expansion project. Groundbreaking is set for Sept. 28 on the school's Herbert Hanson Hall, to be named for a 1949 alumnus who, with his wife, Barbara, gave $10 million for the project. When completed, the $39.9 million building across 4th Street S. from the current school will increase undergraduate capacity by 50 percent. Pawlenty hailed the expansion as a strategically important step to help the university and the state compete in the global economy through education, business acumen and innovation. He also said the bonding bill, which will help finance hundreds of construction projects to benefit education, public safety, the environment, the arts and transportation across Minnesota, will - along with separate legislation for the new Gopher football and Twins stadiums - produce "a big uptick" in building trades jobs. Later on Thursday, Pawlenty also visited the Elk River site of a planned transit station for the Northstar commuter rail line, which received $60 million in the bonding bill. Although the bill authorizes borrowing about $150 million more than the governor proposed, he did not exercise his authority to veto any of its line items. Because he brokered the final compromise between House and Senate bonding bills, he said, he could not make further cuts in good faith with legislators. . Conrad deFiebre - 651-222-1673