The Legislature wants a gas tax hike, the governor doesn't. Now what?

Street work
Street construction in Minneapolis.
MPR File Photo/Dan Olson

Both the House and the Senate have approved super-sized bills to pay for roads and transit. The Senate has passed a bill that would provide an additional $12 billion for transportation over the next 10 years.

The House version is smaller, but still pretty hefty. Supporters say the huge spending increase is needed to make up for years of underfunding. Opponents say the bills contain too much taxing and too much spending -- they prefer the scaled down, no-new-taxes version proposed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Conference committee members will now try to settle on a compromise version of the House and Senate bills. Assuming they can reach an agreement, the bill will go on to the governor for an almost certain veto. Then it's back to the drawing board.

What kind of transportation legislation will actually come out of this process?

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