Minnesota state lawmakers can’t say they weren’t warned.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed a transportation bill May 19 that included a 10-cent-per-gallon tax increase on diesel and gasoline. He also scolded the Legislature for sending it to him in the first place.

“When I stand here on record and fervently tell you weekly that I am going to veto a bill with a gas tax directly in it, how dumb can they be?” Pawlenty told The Associated Press.

The Republican governor’s veto came less than 24 hours after lawmakers agreed to send to him a $7.8 billion, 10-year transportation bill that would have increased the state’s 20-cent-per-gallon tax on diesel and gasoline by a nickel each of the next two years. It also sought to increase state funding for roads and bridges by 50 percent and double state support for transit.

Neither chamber passed the bill – HF2461 – with a big enough vote margin to suggest an override is likely. According to local media, it’s doubtful the GOP-controlled House will even try.

The governor told lawmakers pushing the fuel tax hike he’s willing to compromise if voters get the final say.

Meanwhile, Pawlenty has offered his own plan to meet transportation needs. It depends on borrowing and sales tax shifts. Critics have scoffed at the idea, calling it “credit card spending.”

With the Legislature wrapping up its work for the year Monday, May 23, a compromise to increase transportation funding is highly unlikely.