2021 Minnesota state budget 2 , CD3 DFL

Reps. Liebling and Schultz announce HHS budget agreement with strong investments in Minnesotans

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, Rep. Jen Schultz (DFL – Duluth), chair of the House Human Services Committee, and Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), chair of the House Health Committee, announced a bipartisan agreement on a compromise Health and Human Services budget with Senate Republicans. The budget includes significant advancements for Minnesotans’ health and wellbeing as the state moves past the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Following a great deal of work to reach agreement on a new biennial budget, we’ve assembled the best HHS bill I’ve worked on during my tenure at the Capitol,” Rep. Schultz said. “I’m particularly proud of our work to expand affordable child care access, make historic investments in home and community-based services to help individuals live independently, increase compensation for Personal Care Attendants (PCAs), and put in place a long-term path to help low-income Minnesotans have greater economic security. The past year has been grueling for many Minnesotans, and this legislation will help them experience a brighter future.”

Minnesota House Passes Compromise Transportation Budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Transportation Budget Bill following a bipartisan compromise reached with the Senate. The legislation invests in all modes of transportation across the state by funding improvements for pedestrian and bike infrastructure, transit development and services, road safety improvements, bridge replacements, as well as freight and passenger rail projects.

“I’m proud we’ve reached bipartisan agreement with the Senate after working to secure strong transportation investments across the state,” said House Transportation Chair Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis). “Minnesotans expect us to improve and maintain our transportation system because it keeps us safe, creates good jobs in a time of economic recovery, and gives all people and communities the opportunity to grow and prosper.”

The compromise transportation budget notably invests $57.5 million in arterial Bus Rapid Transit, funds the 2nd daily train to Chicago, reopens driver’s exam locations closed due to COVID-19, ends driver’s license suspensions for non-public safety offenses, and delivers funds for needed road and bridge repairs and safety improvements statewide.

Minnesota House Advances Compromise Commerce and Energy Budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Commerce and Energy budget on a vote of 70 – 60. The compromise bill aims to address the climate crisis and protect Minnesota consumers from those who seek to take advantage of them. It invests in several clean energy initiatives that will reduce Minnesota’s greenhouse gas emissions and create well-paying jobs, ensures Minnesotans who are disproportionately impacted by climate change benefit from the transition to clean energy, tackles catalytic converter theft, and establishes a Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights to protect students from predatory lending practices.

“As one of the fastest warming states in the country, Minnesota is experiencing impacts to our health, our farms, and our way of life right now,” said Rep. Jamie Long (DFL – Minneapolis), chair of the House Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee. “We must rapidly transition to clean energy, and this bill takes important steps to deploy clean energy, promote energy efficiency, and support workers and communities throughout this transition. These initiatives will create well-paying jobs, help those most impacted by climate change, and lower energy costs.”

With budget still unfinished, action on House Floor grinds to halt during daylong debate

The agenda for Thursday’s floor session called for energy to bat leadoff. The omnibus commerce, climate and energy finance and policy bill was to be the first of the budget bills to be debated by the full House during this special session.

And energy is something House Republicans used in an attempt to keep action from being taken.

After Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell) moved to re-refer the bill back to its committee of origin, 21 other Republicans rose to object to the process that created the bill, and that the bill doesn’t continue funding for the state’s health reinsurance program. Continue reading.

Minn. House Approves Compromise Higher Education Budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Late yesterday evening, the Minnesota House of Representatives advanced the compromise higher education budget bill on a vote of 71-57. House DFLers negotiated with the Republican-led Senate with a goal of using limited resources to protect students from rising costs, while also keeping Minnesota institutions vibrant and competitive, and shrinking racial and economic opportunity gaps in higher education.

“All Minnesota families deserve the opportunity to access a world-class education, no matter where they live or what they look like,” said House Higher Education Chair Connie Bernardy (DFL-New Brighton). “Our bipartisan compromise with the Senate prioritizes students by helping them overcome pandemic-related challenges now and into the future. We are committed to ensuring students are prepared to move forward in the post-pandemic workforce. House DFLers advocated for strategic investments in Minnesotans, so we can all thrive and emerge stronger post-COVID-19.”

The bipartisan higher education budget funds the Office of Higher Education (OHE), the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MinnState), the University of Minnesota campuses, and the Mayo Clinic Medical School. Significantly, it makes investments into the State Grant program that will impact more than 75,000 students and expand access to nearly 3,000 grant applicants. Additionally, within the budget agreement is a new “fostering independence” grant program to fund up to five years of college for students raised in foster care.

Minnesota House approves Legacy Amendment Investments

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Yesterday, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed compromise legislation to protect and enhance the outdoors, clean water, arts and cultural heritage, and parks and trails. The bill invests $645.6 million generated by Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment in these four priorities. The investments will benefit people and communities across Minnesota for years to come.

“Minnesotans care deeply about our state,” said Rep. Leon Lillie (DFL – North St. Paul), chair of the Legacy Finance Committee. “We are proud of our great outdoors, clean water, arts and culture, and parks and trails, and we want to preserve and enhance them for current and future generations. Investing in these priorities will make our state an even better place to live.”

In 2008, Minnesotans voted to adopt the Legacy Amendment, which increased the state sales tax by three-eighths of one percent. The revenue this constitutional amendment generates is divided between four funds. 66 percent of the revenue is split evenly between the Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Clean Water Fund, 19.75 percent goes to the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, and the Parks and Trails Fund receives 14.25 percent. All of these funds are appropriated every two years except the Outdoor Heritage Fund, which is appropriated annually.

Minnesota House approves compromise Agriculture and Broadband budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Agriculture and Broadband budget bill following a bipartisan compromise reached with the Senate. The legislation, which funds the operations of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), the Board of Animal Health, the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI), and the Office of Broadband Development, includes new strategies and investments to strengthen farming and food production in Minnesota.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly challenging for farmers and food producers, and I’m proud of this budget agreement which not only supports key resources to help them bounce back, but invests in the next generation of farming in our state,” said Rep. Mike Sundin (DFL – Esko), chair of the House Agriculture Committee. “The budget invests in opportunities to develop new markets, supports efforts to continue addressing climate change, soil health, and water quality, and helps ensure we have a growing diversity of farmers equipped to contribute to our communities. This budget is the result of a collaborative effort that recognizes all Minnesotans depend on fresh food to live healthy lives, and healthy, sustainable agriculture and food production industries are critical to our success.”

The legislation includes several key priorities House DFLers included in the original House Agriculture Budget including increased funding for emerging farmer outreach at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), the Urban and Youth Agriculture program, the Farm-to-School initiative, the Good Food Access program, the Ag Best Management Practices program (AgBMP), and new investments in small-scale meat processing. To help struggling farmers, the agreement increases investments in the Farm Advocate program, with $150,000 specifically targeted toward farm transitions. To better compensate advanced and renewable biochemical and biofuel producers, the budget increases bioincentive payments by $1.5 million per year.

“Minnesota farmers and our agricultural communities must be successful for Minnesota to be successful,” said House Speaker Melissa Hortman. “Agriculture is a major economic driver in our state. Our final budget invests in farmers and their families to ensure our agriculture and food production industries emerge stronger after the pandemic.”

Among other items, the budget also funds:

Second Harvest Heartland grants for milk and protein purchases
The state’s noxious weed and invasive plant program
International trade efforts
Farm safety grants
Mental health outreach
Livestock production grants
Restoration of AURI’s Meat Scientist position
Replacement of aging lab equipment at MDA
An increase in the Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) budget at MDA
Meat and poultry inspections
Reimbursement for wolf depredation and elk damage

“Republican politicians are fighting for powerful corporations making record profits instead of the family farmers who have sustained Minnesotans for generations,” said Majority Leader Winkler. “We can create new opportunities for Minnesotans of all backgrounds to thrive in our ag economy if we change the status quo.”

In reaching a compromise, Senate Republicans refused to agree to continue funding Market Bucks, a program that helps low-income Minnesotans purchase fresh food at farmers markets. The final budget also didn’t include new requirements for seeds treated with neonicotinoid pesticides, the Climate Smart Farms program, and a new fee on gross pesticide sales, which were all provisions the House originally included in its budget. Additionally, while the budget funds operations for the Office of Broadband Development, funding for the Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program will be considered separately in a capital investment funding package.

A spreadsheet of the investments contained within the legislation is available here. The bill will next travel to the Senate for that body’s consideration. Video of the House Floor session will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.

Rep. Mariani Statement on Status of Public Safety Budget Negotiations

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL – Saint Paul), Chair of the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Committee, issued the following statement regarding ongoing efforts to reach a Public Safety budget agreement:

“Minnesotans are counting on state legislators for both the policy solutions and the necessary funding to ensure all communities can live with true public safety while being treated with dignity and respect. To stop the senseless trauma that too many people, families, and neighborhoods continue to experience – especially communities of color – at this critical moment in our state’s history, Minnesotans deserve a fair and thoughtful approach to better policing. Contrary to recent Republican rhetoric, the House DFL Public Safety budget both better funds police work and better increases accountability than the Senate Republican proposals. Most significantly, it does so by including the voices of people of color who are the most impacted when police practices go wrong. Their views are vital to help us all to understand the need for the changes they are rightly demanding. As part of the legislative conference committee, I call on Senate Republicans to stop the non-helpful posturing and find an agreement with us that will meet the needs of our communities.”

Tide turns on Minnesota legislative session

The nature of Minnesota’s legislative session has dramatically changed.

No longer is there a projected deficit to fix. A modest budget surplus is now in the cards, and a big chunk of money could soon be on its way from the federal government.

Differences over how to craft the next budget remain, but the prospect of a protracted stalemate is diminished. Continue reading.

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