“In each budget, the legislature appropriates an amount of spending authority to Mn/DOT. For fiscal year 2008, the total appropriation authority was set at $551 million. Mn/DOT had already planned to use most of this amount on a variety of construction projects around the state.
“We are now faced with rebuilding the I-35W bridge after the catastrophic events of August 1.
“Minnesota will receive $250 million from the federal government to rebuild the bridge, but Mn/DOT needs the legal authority to spend that money.
“In the 2007 transportation funding bill, the legislature created a specific procedure in law to approve additional spending authority for transportation projects in which the state will receive previously unanticipated federal funds. The process was set up to deal with emergency situations, just like the one created by the tragic collapse of the I-35W bridge.
“Because the legislature decided not to authorize the increased appropriation during the recently concluded special session, something proposed by the Pawlenty Administration, this request must now go before the Legislative Advisory Commission.
“If the LAC refuses to authorize increased spending, Mn/DOT will have no choice but to stay within its original appropriation authority which may result in delaying some other construction projects.
“While a few options exist to meet the cash flow needs for reconstruction, the LAC is the only entity that can increase the appropriations authority at this time.
“The request to the LAC is simply a housekeeping item that allows us to spend the money which will be available to rebuild the I-35W bridge without impacting other projects.
“We fully expect that members of the LAC will put politics aside and do the right thing by granting the spending authorization to deal with this emergency situation.”
