The List: Hundreds of Millions of Pork in the $1.5 Billion 2018 Final Spending Bill only 7 Republicans Voted No

The 2018 bonding bill was $825 million dollars. Titled, HF4404/ SF4013 it passed the house 84 to 39. Action 4 Liberty documented the votes and only 4 republican legislators voted against the bill in the house. Cal Bahr, Steve Drazkowski, Steve Greene, and Jeremy Munson. None from Washington County. The bill didn't pass the Senate with a 34 to 33 vote at first because there's thankfully a requirement to have a three fifths approval. Not one republican Senator voted no on the massive spending bill where over half the money goes to State colleges to build recreation areas, community halls, and other impressive eight figure buildings. No strings attached cash. Nothing about lowering tuition or other student costs; focusing on degrees or trades that have shortages (ie: professions they can get a job in). 

However, just hours before session ended Republicans opened the flood gates to allow what appeared to be any spending request to get this bill to pass wrapped up with a lot of the spending projects that failed to pass in the Capital Investment Project bill we covered earlier in May. The spending totals $1.5 billion dollars and was rushed through the house and senate without resistance. The Bill was HF4425 This was documented by Action 4 Liberty. It had so much wasteful spending most of the house democrats voted yes! It passed in the house 113 to 17, with only 7 republicans voting no. That is, Cal Bahr, Steve Drazkowski, Steve Greene, Eric Lucero, Joe McDonald, Marion O'Neil, and Jeremy Munson. It passed in the Senate 42-25 with every republican voting yes.

Governor Dayton signed this $1.5 billion dollar spending bill with $825 million of it in bonding debt. 

In 2017, the House and Senate republicans passed a billion dollar bonding bill which the Governor signed. Worst of all, it was a non-bonding year. Every other year is reserved for bonding (or debt) spending. The house members to vote no were:  Cal Bahr, Drew Christensen, Steve Drazkowski, Steve Green, Eric Lucero, Joe McDonald, Tim Miller, Marion O'neill, and Duane Quam. Again, not one person from Washington County. (Jeremy Munson was not in office yet if you're wondering why the lack of a no vote from him).

So what's in these pork bills is hard to exactly follow as the legislature does a horrible job explaining what comes and goes into the bills and when they meld to bigger and bigger bills like this 998 page beast. Especially in conference Committees. Unless you are there in person it's impossible to know. One thing is for certain, things are not being taken out... Things are being rammed in. Safe to say the First reading is a modest version of the bill that the Senate was unable to pass and certainly the $1.5 billion dollar version that eventually passed. Here's all the projects that stood out as "what the hell are you funding that with State tax dollars for?" In other words, "if that's SO important than the local areas that are getting the funding should pay" or simply that it's insane to fund such a thing... especially from Republicans who are supposed to be fiscally responsible. A great filter is asking "Is this a CORE function of government?" 

Minnesota consistently ranks as one of the worst tax friendly States... and it's all related to the out of control spending like this bill. It's one of many multi billion dollar omnibus bills that make up our State's nearly $50 billion dollar budget.

Also added after the bonding list here are projects that were not in the failed senate Capital investment bill we covered earlier in May.

2018 Omnibus (bonding) bill spending pork:

-$298 million to the UofM for infrastructure like buildings. It's no strings attached for good ideas like to lower tuition or stop building 8 figure art and music halls with the hard earned tax money. This bill, for example had $24 million to restore one Pillsbury hall building.

-$274 million to the equally unaccountable Minnesota State Colleges and Universities for the same kind of projects 

-$14 million to Red Lake School district to connect an elementary school to a middle school. They have a reading proficiency of 4% (reading proficiency for grade 4 at Ponemah Elementary in 2017 on MCA3 scores. Proficient means they can read as one could expect for that grade with the low bar of the state) , But the Legislature's solution is to throw money at them for a building... instead of teacher accountability reform or school choice options.

-$4 Million for a Perpich Center for the Arts

-$21 million dollars to renovate a laboratory building at the department of Agriculture... 

-$13.7 million to preserve and improve exhibits at the Minnesota Zoo

-$21 million to the Minnesota Zoo most of the funds to repurpose the monorail.... how about a cost neutral option of offering a contractor to remove the pure steel super structure free of charge and allowing them to take the steel for scrap. That's how much of the Brown's creek trail in Stillwater was paid for from the scrap rail road tracks.

-$4 million for an Amateur sports Commission
-$13.7 million to the Minnesota Zoological Garden 

-$9 million to purchase "two aircraft" $7.2 million of it is being taken from road funds!

-$50 million to the Un-elected Metropolitan Council to expand failed bus lines of their choosing... The money should be spent with stand alone bills for proposed projects like our road projects are. We don't just give MNDOT tens or hundreds of millions and say to go do what they want. At the least they should let the experts in Bus service at Metro Transit decide because they have proven studies and calculations to determine route use called the Service Improvement plans. The Met Council's strategy is to expand as many lines as possible at the same time to create lines that need funding indefinitely check out the latest failure of the Met C in bus planning here.

-$50 million to the Un-elected Metropolitan Council to build a "Heywood II bus garage" in Minneapolis

-$14 million to build two secure living units for sex offenders in St. Peters... this is not related to the $8.8 million for the second phase of a different building for the sex offenders in St. Peter that we covered in the 2018 Capital Investment pork bill

-ONLY $13 million for the veteran homes in Minneapolis, Hastings, Fergus Falls, Silver Bay, Luverne, and Little Falls...

-$16 million for new plumbing and ventilation at the St. Cloud prison... anyone else not care if prisoners have to shower with cold water and live with bad ventilation?

-$15 million for public housing for low income... how about welfare reform and the thousands of units of existing low income housing can be temporary solutions until they're self sustaining again? Faster recovery opens up units. 

-$40 million for the Minnesota Historical Society... core function of government?

-ONLY $500,000 for cemeteries for Veterans across the whole state and it comes with small print saying the  "veterans cemeteries, to be operated by the commissioner of veterans affairs. The commissioner also must seek donations of land for the cemeteries."

Middle of nowhere trails:

-$2.6 million trail in New London (population 1,200, middle of no where far west of cities)

-$3.3 million for trail from Detroit Lakes (pop. 8K to Frazee pop 1,300)

-$3.5 million for "mountain bike system" in Cuyuna Country rec area by Crosby MN (pop. 3,000) 

-$1.6 million trail out of Little Falls (pop 8k)

-$3.5 million for "continued development" of underground mine park facilities in Lake Vermilion 

-$3.1 million for a trail through Tofte MN on far north shore (population 226 people!)

Some of the added pork to make the $1.5 billion dollar version:

$1.9 million to build a bear exhibit at the Duluth Zoo that couldn't even take care of it's Polar bears after flooding allowed a bear to escape in 2012 they closed it down and moved the bears out. 

$1.3 million dollars for the start of a trail near the hospital in ELY (population 3,390)

$1.5 million to add to the already 200 mile long ATV trail that winds through rural Aitkin County

$1.3 million for a recreation area in Babbitt (pop 1,400)

$1.4 million for Hennepin County Center for the arts

$514,000 for a public radio station tower in Trout Lake Township (population 1,087 people)

$15 million for Minneapolis to redevelop a Harbor Terminal for the public (initially they were to get $12 million)

$3 million for a food bank in Crookston (pop 5,800)

$1.8 million to Silver Bay to put a park on the recently public "black beach" (pop 1,800)

$4.5 million to renovate one rec center in St. Paul

$400,000 to study "insect productivity" for fish.

$200,000 to sonar map muscle habitat in St Croix/Mississippi river way

$400,000 to study alternatives to road salt... (it's free to ask the dozens of no salt cities and counties across the Country for data on salt alternatives)

$300,000 to public TV to make videos on conservation

$550,000 so 17 acres in Morris MN (pop 5,200) can teach about pollinators (like bees) Could they have found a more isolated and remote city in the State?
$1 million for new international wolf center exhibits

$550,000 to increase diversity in environmental jobs

$350,000 to study and develop "solar window concentrators" (sounds like a job for the private sector)

$550,000 to write a guidebook on storing renewable energy

$310,000 to develop "bio-mulch" for gardens

$750,000 to research "new technology lawnmowers" original language said "autonomous pasture mower and solar charging station"

$400,000 to assess using invertebrates as a food source for animals in the Praire Pothole area of the State.

$2.2 million for a Swedish Immigrant trail section near Taylor Falls MN (pop 1,000)

$338,000 to research if bison can restore oak savannah wildlife area

$1 million dollar trail in Cohasset (pop 2,600) 

$2 million to improve a boat launch in Grand Marais 

$2.5 million for part 3 of 4 on a trail in La Crescent (pop 4,800)

$1.1 million for a trail "near" Tower MN (pop 400) 

The Hundreds of Millions in Pork in the 2018 Capital Investment Omnibus

All this spending eventually passed when rolled into a $1.5 billion dollar omnibus bill. Plus more:  The List: Hundreds of Millions of Pork in the $1.5 Billion 2018 Final Spending Bill only 7 Republicans Voted No

It was nearly 4pm yesterday when tax payers who subscribe to the Senate Capital Investment Committee got notified on what was in the Capital Investment omnibus bill. We are all notified that we can submit a short two minute testimony for AFTER session today.  

Why Thank you Minnesota legislators for the convoluted system where citizens can know what you're doing after you've made your back room deals for the last few months to get the monster omnibus bill where it is today. Like there's any hope something will get removed 11 days before session ends. No wonder tax and spending is so out of hand.  This omnibus has 85 pages of spending and over 3/4 of it is so horrible it would never pass if there was a floor vote and short discussion on every project. Here's my testimony I submitted with less than 24 hours to write where I picked out the most "what the hell are you thinking?" spending items: 

How wonderful to finally find out what's in this "Capital Investment" omnibus bill 11 days before session ends and get two minutes to testify after it looks like there is no hope to get any pork removed without risking it not passing for the 1/4 that is good (ie: spending for veterans and infrastructure). Last year (non-bonding year) you passed a billion dollar bonding bill. This 2018 CIP bill is no different. $1.18 billion in spending with most of it as debt. It's ridiculous the amount of insane projects are thrown into this free for all bill. Projects that local tax payers, not State tax payers should be funding if they are so desperately needed. That's the check and balance to unneeded spending. That, and the MN constitution that states to have one bill, one vote. No unconstitutional multi-subject bills like this.

It's appalling that so called fiscal conservative republican legislators would join the democrats on the smash and grab by adding and approving pet projects to this unsustainable reckless omnibus. It's one of many just like it with different titles to total over $40 billion dollars every two years. It's no wonder MN is the 2nd least tax friendly state.

Please read through what I consider the worst of the spending in your Capital Investment bill. You could start by axing the $25 million blank check you write to the un-elected Met Council... That's not including the over $200 million the transportation omnibus is accustomed to paying so they can back door fund light rail and other failed Mass transit corridors. Let cities plan their own sewers, parks, and transit... and let them pay for it too!

• scs4013a-1 (PDF)
• SF4013 Spreadsheet (PDF)

The List: 

-UofM $95.4 million yet tuition remains high and students are stuck with $1,000+ a month payments 

-$6.5 million to put solar panels on the University of Mankato and some renovations 

-Tens of million in trails locals should pay for. Just a few for example: 

          -$200k for a blufflands trail by the Iowa border

          -$2.5 for a Chester woods trail outside Rochester

          -$1.3 million for rec area in Babbitt (population 1,500)

          -$2.5 million for part three of trail in middle of nowhere La Crescent (population 4,800)

-$3,000,000 for the Minnesota Zoo Garden!

-$1 million for Amateur sports center in Blaine... seriously? that's a core function of Gov?

-$2.5 million dollar bus garage in Rochester

-$2 million dollar pedestrian/Bike bridge in the city of Rogers (pop. 11,000)

-$10 million to the unelected Met Council to build parks and trails as they want

-$2.5 to build facilities for park on Lake Waconia

-$2 million for swimming pool in New Hope

-$3 million Nature Sanctuary Visitor Center

-$4.4 million White Bear Lake trail around the lake an area with more millionaires concentrated around the lake than any other area in the County... but the State has to pay for it? 

-$8,800,000 for Sex offenders in St. Peter to pay for the second of unknown number of phases to renovate the campus, put in brand new air conditioning, new windows, remodeling, etc... how about let them stay in tents outside like military men and women have to abroad? 

-$18,000,000 for Brooklyn Park to build a food shelf (what a precedent, so every city getting one?)

-$5 million for Duluth trails 

-$12 million for Minneapolis to redevelop a Harbor Terminal for the public

-$4.4 million community center in Perham (pop. 3,000)

-$3 million for a food shelf in Crookston (pop. 7,900)

-$5 million St. Paul River Centre parking lot

-$5.5 million Southeast Asian Language Job Training Facility 

-$8.1 million for Wabasha to expand the Eagle Center (sounds like a city investment)

-$5 million dollar open air stage in Waite Park

-$18 million to renovate one visitor building (#18) in Fort Snelling

-$26 million for airports (yes, because millionaire airplane owners need assistance)

-$18 million to expand remote trails at some rural state parks

-$750,000 pedestrian bridge in Grand rapids 

-$6 million St. Paul MN museum of American Art

There's dozens and dozens of other projects... those are just a sample of what stood out to me.

$1.6 BILLION 2017 Bonding Bill. Legislators Say They Refuse to Cut Any Pork. Call to Action.

Part I: List of Tens of Millions in Pork in 2017 Bonding Bill

3/11/17: Completely out of touch response from Senator Ingebrigtsen "Down with the Orange line. I get it." 

---------------------------------------
Here's my testimony for March 7th hearing. This is the fourth testimony I've made asking to cut only the wasteful spending. The author of the bill Senator Senjem kindly explained his perspective and refusal to cut one cent of spending; which, to me, flies in the face of common sense and why we elected them to legislate responsibly:
----------------
Dear Legislators,

we've been in an informative email exchange with Senator Senjem who we thank for answering some questions about his 2017 $1.6 BILLION dollar bonding bill SF210. From previous testimony you are likely aware of the lengthy list of ridiculous projects that are being funded in this bill (some listed below).  List of Tens of Millions in Pork in 2017 Bonding Bill

Senator Senjem responded: "I appreciate your perspective.  There are projects in this bill that wish were not part of it."

we responded: Great than please use your legislative power in committee and take these terrible project you agree are bad out! If not, can you explain why you can't say in committee: the voters elected us to cut spending... so we're going to take out pork barrel spending in SF210:

-the nightmare transit lines (orange line); 

-cut the spending to build TV stations, walking paths, pedestrian bridges, a garden at the zoo, and dentist office, etc. 

-funding of hundreds of millions to for profit colleges with massive sports franchises and refuse to lower tuition 

-spending for highly localized projects the State should have no business funding. 

Of highest concern is funding for the Met Council and funding to start new transit corridors like the Orange Line and build a ridiculous $8.7 million dollar train stop at the Mall of America. This is outrageous when we know the failure that these white elephants are costing State tax payer billions collectively. We have four transit corridors built already and none of them take more than 1% of traffic off the highway they parallel. Plus the Orange line is being built just north of the Red Line with the same failed mode of transit of BRT. The Red Line is the corridor with the WORST PERFORMANCE IN THE COUNTRY as I can find, with just 6% of operating cost being paid for by the riders according to the MNDOT Guideways Status Report!

Senator Senjem Responded: 

"If I take out one project out of it, and especially the one you cite [the orange line], the whole bill falls apart and we have nothing. I understand that some Rs want nothing because it is good personal politics.  As chair I have institutional responsibilities towards the good and welfare of our state's infrastructure and it would be totally irresponsible for me to let our state's infrastructure go without repair."  

Lastly, I responded:

1.) No one is asking that everything be removed.

2.) I'm not a politician, I work in medicine, so I have no personal political gain other than to escape oppressive taxes because of reckless spending

3.) Taking pork out of the $1.6 billion dollar bill would make it MORE popular not less wouldn't it? Especially with the GOP majority who was elected by voters like myself who thought this spending could stop. 

4.) I agree with you that your bill has dozens of much needed road projects and other infrastructure spending; however, I deeply disagree that a bill with hundreds of millions in waste should be passed because half of it has good projects.

If you could answer about why taking Pork out or even one $12 million dollar Orange line, would make it "fall apart" when there's a GOP majority in the House and Senate I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again so much for your time and your service to see the passage of a responsible bonding bill. I'd hate for a repeat of the 2011 session when the GOP controlled the House and Senate and DID NOTHING about Met Council and funded many transit projects including money for the Gold Line and the Red Rock Corridor. Ironically that was the last year (GOP control) that these two corridors got direct funding from the MNLeg. The following year the DFL took over the house AND senate because the GOP let the public down on wasteful spending:(

we find it shocking that when the GOP is in power they fail to act on their political promises and lose the following election because of it. However, it sounds like this is not so easily done. I await your explanation before jumping to conclusions.

Representative Senjem never responded. 

Representative Matt Dean responded with a great constitutional idea:
"Our constitution demands extra votes than a simple majority to borrow money.  I think we should do this for omnibus spending bills as well." (referring to SF210)

Conclusion:

Legislators, please do what we elected you to office to do. Stop making excuses and do your job and stop the wasteful spending you promised you were going to defeat. Saying you are just one legislator or worry that the Governor won't sign the bill are terrible myths. Because rolls reversed, the democrats always immediately roll out bonding budgets that are double this bill initially. They know ridiculous will never pass, but they offer it knowing they will cut it down to what they actually wanted (plain irresponsible). Afterwards, like a child with a 14th place trophy, Republicans leave the table honestly thinking they won. But in actuality they just got schooled.

We elected you to exercise the same winning strategy back on them... Slash the hell out of this bill... if Dayton Complains than listen to what few things he wants to get him to sign it and put a couple projects back and say that's the best you can do. But please for the love of the 2018 election do not put the Orange Line back in!

GOP Senate Passes $5.8 Billion Transportation Bill with $180 Million to Met Council & Mass Transit a Huge Raise

Vice Chair Rep. Petersburg Promises No Transit Bills in 2017 House Transportation Omnibus Bill

 $1.6 BILLION 2017 Bonding Bill. Legislators Say They Refuse to Cut Any Pork.