Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday used his line-item veto authority to decimate the bonding bill from $1 billion to $686 million, in some cases chopping entire sections from the bill.

The Capital Investment Committee conferees will gather at 6 p.m. to once again take up the stalled bonding bill. The latest iteration of the nearly $1 billion bill contains more of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's priority projects, but still spends considerably more than he's suggested is appropriate.

A reconstituted Capital Investment conference committee will meet briefly at 6:00 this evening to approve a new bonding bill spreadsheet. Both House and Senate leadership are then hoping to pass the bill on the floor Thursday. Main change: some additional dollars for the state's sex offender detention facility in Moose Lake.

When we caught up with House Capital Investment chair Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, after this morning's Finance Committee hearing, she summed up the continuing back-and-forth between the two sides this way: "I'm growing increasingly pessimistic over the chances that we will get to a point where the governor will sign a bonding bill without line-item vetoes. It's beginning to seem outside the realm of possibility."

Legislative staffers are crunching numbers in advance of a meeting of the House Capital Investment Division late this afternoon at which the committee will present a new bonding proposal that DFLers hope is closer to a bill that Gov. Tim Pawlenty will accept.

Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson said today he's "not foolish enough" to think the final bonding bill will be $725 million. But at this point, Gov. Pawlenty maintains that $725 million is the limit.

The Pioneer Press's political blog posted a very interesting letter written by Rep. Keith Downey, R-Edina, that criticizes Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's recent statements on key legislative issues including the general assistance medical care (GAMC) program.

GOP and DFL legislators and Pawlenty's legislative liaison Chris DeLaForest are expected to meet later today on the bonding bill.

Key legislators plan to meet again with Gov. Tim Pawlenty at 9 a.m. Thursday to discuss their differences on the bonding bill. On Wednesday afternoon, Pawlenty met with all the conferees that earlier this week approved a $1 billion borrowing bill.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher took everyone in the room by surprise when she announced at an impromptu presser Tuesday afternoon that the Legislature would invoke an obscure parliamentary play to pull back a $1 billion bonding bill that Gov. Tim Pawlenty had promised to veto on arrival.