A major public infrastructure package projected to create thousands of construction jobs around Minnesota faces an uncertain fate after the Legislature ended a special session Tuesday without agreement on a $1 billion-plus borrowing bill.
The collapse of the multiyear bonding bill was the third failed effort since the end of a regular Legislative session in May that was clouded by the coronavirus pandemic. Another special session in June, dominated by the police killing of George Floyd, also ended without a deal.
Lawmakers in the divided Legislature came together again late Monday night to pass sweeping police reforms in response to the death of Floyd and other Black men in encounters with police. Leaders in both parties praised the bipartisan effort to reach agreement on a police accountability measure, which Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign later this week. But support for a $1.8 billion borrowing package failed to materialize, despite leaders' assurances that both sides were close to a deal in recent weeks. Political jockeying over Walz's use of executive powers during the pandemic, combined with differences over some of the building projects, sank the bonding bill before a self-imposed deadline to adjourn the weeklong special session.
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