Pawlenty won't veto Minnesota construction projects bill

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 3:52pm

The bill only includes about half the money Pawlenty sought to expand the sex offender treatment facility at Moose Lake.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Gov. Tim Pawlenty is withdrawing his threat to reject a $1 billion construction projects bill.

Instead, the Republican governor says he can work with the current proposal from House-Senate negotiators.

He told reporters on Wednesday that the bill may need "a little trimming."

The governor can remove individual projects using his line-item veto.

Earlier, Democrats pulled back a different version of the package when Pawlenty threatened to veto the whole thing.

They then added in Pawlenty's top priorities, although they aren't putting as much money as he wanted toward expanding the state sex offender treatment complex in Moose Lake.