January 17, 2012 
Governor Mark Dayton today revealed his proposed bonding bill for the upcoming legislative session. Dayton proposes $903 million in state funding, $775 million of which is general obligation bonding. The total plan includes an additional $575 million in federal or local matching funds, which would result in an estimated 21,000 new jobs. Some of the proposed projects include:
- $111 million in projects around the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, including a combined $44 million for expansions and renovations at North Hennepin Community College, South Central College, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and Ridgewater College
- $107 million in projects in the University of Minnesota system, most notably renovation of the Old Main Utility Building to function as a multi-utility power plant for the Twin Cities campus
- $76 million in transportation projects including repairs to 82 bridges, expansion of transit in Greater Minnesota, and expansion of four maintenance facilities
- $60 million in expansions and remodeling at civic centers in Rochester, Mankato, and St. Cloud
- $42 million in clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects
- $40 million in remodeling/expansion at the St. Peter Security Hospital
- $33 million in expanded loans and financing for farmers
- $29.9 million expansion to the St. Cloud prison
- $28.5 million in maintenance and upgrades to the State Capitol and nearby office buildings
- $27 million for a new St. Paul Saints ballpark
- $26 million for a new state emergency operations center
- $25 million for the Southwest Corridor Light Rail Transit line
- $25 million for renovations of the Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis
Republicans are critical of the package, although as of yet they have not released their own bonding proposals.
21,000 new jobs? Not buying it. 775 million would produce and average of 36K for these workers. I guess we’re not going to be paying them much, nor are we going to use any materials on these projects. Where does he get this magical number from?
$775 million is the state portion of these projects. There are federal and local matching funds and in some cases, private funds that would also used on these projects for a total spend of $1.5 billion.
OK so 70K per job. With no materials? This is a bogus number.