by T.W. Budig
ECM Capitol reporter

The House on Monday (April 14) passed a transportation policy conference committee report that Gov. Tim Pawlenty indicated he might veto.

Pawlenty on Monday expressed concerns over a provision dealing with federal REAL ID legislation - the feds want information added to state driver's licenses such as Social Security numbers and legal status.

Such data could be required in order for a passenger to board an airplane.

The governor, while saying he supports the data protection and security language found in the REAL ID provision in the conference committee report, objected to a stipulation that would have the state not spending a penny on implementing REAL ID unless the federal government covered 95 percent of the cost.

Pawlenty argued such a payment threshold was unreasonable.

He suggested a 50 percent federal payment threshold.

Unfunded mandate

But on the House floor Democrats argued the REAL ID provision was an unfunded mandate, that they had tried to appease the governor, and that it was simply time to move on.

"It's been long overdue," said House Transportation and Transit Policy Committee Chairman Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, of passing the legislation. "We have really bent over backward to meet the governor's concerns," he said.

House Majority Leader Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, argued that it was useless to try to negotiate with Pawlenty. "You just can't come to an agreement with the governor," he said.

Rep. Shelley Madore, DFL-Apple Valley, and Rep. Will Morgan, DFL-Burnsville, confab on the House floor on Monday (April 14). (Photo by T.W. Budig, ECM Capitol Reporter)

Beyond this, Democrats insisted that there were huge data privacy issues with REAL ID - would the data wind up in some federal database with nothing to do with transportation, asked Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul.

Republicans too, though wanting to send the report back to conference committee, were suspicious of REAL ID - Rep. Mark Buesgens, DFL-Jordan, saying what the governor wanted was "ridiculous."

Environmental gobbledygook

But Buesgens attacked the transportation policy report for favoring transit and containing environmental gobbledygook.

A Republican attempt to send the report back to conference committee failed on an 85-47 vote.

The report was then repassed.

The Senate will take the policy report up next.

Some provisions include: