Legislative Update

Bonding Bill: This morning the House Capital Investment Committee released the House bonding bill. The bill includes $2 million for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants. This is far less than the $10 million we had requested, but it is still more than the $1 million that is included in the Senate bonding bill.

All of the academic library projects that are supported on the MLA/MEMO platform received funding in the House bill. Here is a breakdown:

Northland Community and Technical College: Amount requested: $7.8 million Amount included in the House bonding bill: $7.8 million

Minnesota State Community and Technical College, Moorhead: Amount requested: $2.8 million Amount included in the House bonding bill: $2.5 million

Hennepin Technical College: Amount requested: $2.4 million Amount included in the House bonding bill: $2.4 million

Minnesota State University Moorhead: Amount requested: $700,000 Amount included in the House bonding bill: $400,000

The House bonding bill also includes an exception to the current requirement that in a case where property that has been acquired or improved using state bond funds is later sold, the amount received from the state must be repaid, along with a proportional share of the appreciation in the value of the property. The exception is provided for projects that meet the following conditions: 1) The state bonds that were used to finance the project are no longer outstanding; 2) No more than $100,000 in state bond funds were used for the project and other funds besides bond funds were also used; and 3) the property was owned and directly operated by a local unit of government. This issue was brought to the attention of legislators by the Ramsey County Library, which was required to repay a library accessibility grant when the North St. Paul Library was sold.

The bonding bill will be taken up on the House floor on Thursday.