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Ventura: Let no one mistake my determination. I am absolutely committed to breaking the 20 year old LRT log jam that has produced millions of dollars in studies and not one foot of progress. And I'm confident we will prevail again.Senate Transportation Committee Chair Carol Flynn of Minneapolis assured the governor that the DFL-controlled Senate does not plan to revisit the light-rail issue, but some House Republicans have threatened to try to repeal the funding.
Langseth: While I supported the light-rail proposal, I was rather furious that that counter-balance there - bridges - was vetoed, and I guess I would like to have told the governor that.Ventura's transportation commissioner, Elwyn Tinklenberg, was left to defend the governor's last-minute vetoes, saying Ventura thought the last bonding bill was too expensive.
Tinklenberg: This was not to be taken as a message that somehow he was not supportive of local bridges or understood the need for bridge improvements across Minnesota, and that's why you see even though we have a very tight and very limited bonding proposal coming out of the administration, it does include significant investment in local bridges as a part of a state responsibility.Because Ventura's transportation package is so sweeping - it will need to go before at least four committees in each chamber; a daunting task in a short session - and Senator Flynn says lawmakers may need to break it up into separate pieces to pass the key initiatives. But the chairman of the Metropolitan Council, Ted Mondale, warned lawmakers against, in his words, too much creativity with the governor's plan, saying Ventura might decide to walk away from the table. That prompted an angry response from Republican Senator Bill Belanger of Bloomington.
Belanger: Then it would be nice if he would quit trashing us every opportunity he gets.Many lawmakers echo Belanger privately, saying they're far less willing to accommodate the governor's requests after getting burned by vetoes last year and listening to Ventura criticize the Legislature. That said, the Senate is still likely to support many of the Governor's transportation priorities.
Johnson: No initiative ever breezes through, the governor has simply taken step one, and we're very appreciative.Johnson says the Senate proposal to cut license tabs probably won't go as far as the governor's, and may be in the $140 million range. House Republicans are also talking about tab fee cuts, but they haven't made a firm commitment.