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Senate passes $700M-plus bonding bill for roads, water, public safety and mental-health facility
Summary
House File 18, the bonding bill, passed the Senate with broad bipartisan support. The bill directs more than $290 million to roads and bridges, significant water and wastewater funding, and funds a regional BCA headquarters and a 50-bed mental-health treatment expansion in Anoka.
The Minnesota Senate approved House File 18, the capital investment (bonding) bill, sending more than $700 million in construction and infrastructure funding to projects across the state and unlocking additional federal matching funds.
Senator Pappas, the bill’s author in the Senate, highlighted allocations for asset preservation, water and roads, and public-housing rehabilitation. She pointed to two large projects: a new Bureau of Criminal Apprehension regional building in Mankato to serve southern Minnesota and a new 50-bed mental-health facility in Anoka that supporters said will help reduce the number of people with serious mental illness held in jails and emergency rooms.
Senator Rasmussen said the bill focuses on core infrastructure priorities, including about $291 million for roads and bridges that, when combined with federal dollars, exceeds $300 million. Supporters noted the bill aims to prioritize state-supported functions rather than local “pet projects.”
Senator Housley, co-chair of the committee, said the package includes substantial amounts for local road and bridge programs, wastewater and drinking-water projects and asset preservation for higher-education and veterans’ homes. She listed specific amounts on the floor including $42 million for the local road improvement program, $20 million for local bridge replacement, $165 million in water projects and related federal matching funds.
The bill passed with significant bipartisan support. On final passage the Senate recorded 57 ayes and 10 nays; the bill passed and its title was agreed to. Sponsors urged local officials to prepare for construction, and committee members said they would visit projects across the state.
Key investments named on the floor included $42 million for a local road improvement program, $20 million for local bridge replacement, $5 million for township roads, expanded funding for water and wastewater projects, asset-preservation funds for state facilities and support for veterans homes, state parks and other public assets. The Anoka mental-health project and the BCA Mankato headquarters were singled out as high-priority statewide facilities. Lawmakers said the bill will create construction jobs and help counties and cities address pressing infrastructure needs.
