CHICAGO, March 18 (Reuters) - Minnesota lawmakers are mulling a plan to increase legislative oversight of a commission that runs the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the wake of complaints about the airport's management from Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWAC) The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday on a measure that would require the Metropolitan Airports Commission to submit its budget to the legislature within 90 days of its enactment, according to Scott Sande, the committee's administrator. While lawmakers could hold hearings on the commission's budget under the measure, the legislature could not force the commission to do anything, Sande said, adding that some legislators have expressed an interest in more closely monitoring the commission, whose 15-member board is largely appointed by the governor. Pat Hogan, the commission's spokesman, said the commission could live with the oversight measure. He added that Northwest, the airport's biggest carrier with 80 percent of the gates, was actively pushing legislation. Kathy Peach, a spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-based airline, said Northwest was drawing lawmakers' attention to a need for greater accountability, but was not asking the legislature to pass any specific bill. Robert Brenner, the airline's director of state and local government affairs, wrote to a state lawmaker in November, complaining about the the commission's failure to cut its own budget in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks against the United States, which forced Northwest and other airlines to severely trim their operations and work force. The letter also cited the commission's refusal to let the airline use vacant space to temporarily park grounded aircraft without incurring a regular charge, as well as cost overruns on some airport-related projects. "The current (commission) governance structure does not provide accountability for decision making, especially financial accountability, nor does the legislature have the ability to provide meaningful review and input on significant policy issues, which have broad impact on the state," the letter said. Hogan countered that the commission has reduced its approximately $180 million annual budget, although layoffs to full-time permanent employees were avoided. He added that the commission also decided to cut more than $400 million in expansion projects in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. While the budget oversight measure does not pose a problem for the commission, Hogan said it was important for the commission to have financial flexibility to maintain its double-A-minus debt rating and pay off its $1.8 billion of outstanding bonds. He added the commission had some "real concerns" over other legislative proposals that do not appear to be moving. Those measures would have eliminated the commission's ability to levy a seldom-used property tax or put the airport under the control of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. ©2002 Reuters Limited.