Breaking: Pawlenty Calls Limited Special Session

After weeks of tense negotiations and uncertainty, Gov. Pawlenty agreed
on Monday to convene a special session of the legislature to begin at 5
PM on September 11.

The session is to last only one day and will only deal with disaster
relief for flood victims in southeastern Minnesota,as well as costs
resulting from massive fires earlier this year in the Boundary Waters
Canoe Wilderness Area in northern Minnesota. Funding for roads, bridges
and transit will not be on the session agenda.

About 1,500 homes were damaged and about 300 homes were destroyed in the
flooding about three weeks ago. Pawlenty said on Monday that he expects
the resulting funding to be in the $150 million range, with half being
cash from the state coffers and the remainder from bonding.

Legislators will meet Tuesday before the session to finalize details of
the relief package.