A $990 million bonding bill passed by the state Senate Thursday includes the biggest construction prize being sought by south-central Minnesota — $22 million for the $33 million expansion and renovation of Minnesota State University’s Trafton science building — but leaves out numerous other area projects.

The biggest loser in the bill was the proposed new Minnesota Department of Transportation district headquarters in Mankato, which would get no funding in the Senate bill. The $18.2 million project is Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s top priority among MnDOT projects and is fully funded in his bonding proposal.

The Republican-controlled House is still developing its bonding plan, but the DFL-dominated Senate’s proposal is destined to be the most generous of the three bonding plans. At just short of $1 billion, it’s nearly $150 million larger than Pawlenty’s plan. The House is expected to be close to the governor’s figure.

But even as senators voted 56 to 9 to borrow the maximum amount allowed by legislative guidelines for a bonding bill, scores of requested projects were left out. They include items sought by St. Peter, Winnebago, Blue Earth County, the United South Central School District and more than 150 other projects sought by local governments around the state.

“There was a lot of disappointment from everybody, really,” said Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, who was the Senate sponsor of the Trafton project but saw a number of projects in her district left out.

Sen. Dennis Frederickson, R-New Ulm, helped develop the bill as a member of the Senate Capital Investment Committee and said many good local projects needed to be dropped because of overwhelming needs at the state level.

“We tried to really stress projects and programs of statewide significance,” Frederickson said. “... There was just no room to look at projects of regional significance.”

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities were the big winners in the Senate bill, which would provide $223 million for MnSCU — $80 million more than the governor suggested and $80 million more than the Senate is proposing for the University of Minnesota.

Two for two

The Trafton Science Center project was the top individual MnSCU project for Pawlenty, and the Senate matched that enthusiasm. The Senate also put $55 million into basic repairs at state colleges — more than double Pawlenty’s figure.

The $33 million Trafton project — which will be partially funded by MSU — will expand, renovate and equip the school’s primary science building, providing classrooms, laboratories and offices.

The Senate bill also provides MSU with permission to construct a privately funded new building to house the College of Business on state land. The cost and timeline for that project are still being developed.

Another project included in the plans of both the Senate and the governor is $2.5 million to design and build a new program and activity building at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center. The building would be part of the treatment center’s program for sexual psychopaths and other mentally ill patients.

Left out again

The new MnDOT headquarters for the Mankato-based District 7 has been included in bonding plans from the governor before only to be left out by the Legislature.