Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who signed a bill in 2007 that restricted construction of new coal plants in Minnesota, has been invited to testify at a state House hearing next month on a new bill that would repeal the ban.

The invitation is really just to make a political point, and Pawlenty isn't expected to show: the invitation came from  state Rep. Joe Atkins, a DFLer. Pawlenty's fellow Republicans in the Legislature are pushing the repeal.

But in the invitation letter to Pawlenty, Atkins says that when he signed the original bill, Pawlenty stated:

"The nation has been asleep at the switch, but here in Minnesota we are kick-starting the future by increasing our nation-leading per capita renewable fuel use, boosting cost saving measures and tackling greenhouse gas emissions."

Atkins says the House Commerce Committee hearings could be March 1 or 2.