Key lawmakers want greater local bent to Mayo plan
Published 3:45 pm Tuesday, April 2, 2013
ST. PAUL — Key Minnesota lawmakers are signaling a coming makeover to the Mayo Clinic expansion plan that would reduce the state’s burden.
The bill was detoured Tuesday to give another House panel a chance to examine it while the Taxes Committee figures out the critical financing piece. The head of the Taxes Committee says she intends to pare down the more than $500 million state subsidy while making Rochester and Olmsted County shoulder a larger load. House Speaker Paul Thissen says asking more of the clinic’s host community is “a fair discussion to have.”
Mayo wants the state to commit to public infrastructure upgrades over the next 20 years. Private money would pay for the direct Destination Medical Center build-out as well as hospitality amenities.
Mayo is the state’s biggest private employer.