Legislative Update: Session ends with a lot to be decided (Updated)
By Amanda Bilek, Minnesota Corn Growers Association senior public policy director
Update: On May 23, Gov. Dayton vetoed the tax and budget bills. During his press conference, the Governor indicated he would make a decision on the bonding bill by the end of the week. MCGA is disappointed in the veto of the tax bill, but we will continue to communicate the importance of Section 179 conformity for Minnesota farmers and work to advance agricultural tax relief in future legislative sessions.
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The Minnesota Legislature concluded the 2017-2018 session on Sunday night shortly before the constitutionally set adjournment time of midnight. It is now up to Governor Mark Dayton to decide which pieces of legislation that were passed in the final days and hours of session will become law.
There have already been some disappointments, including a veto of the Omnibus Agriculture Policy bill, which you can ready more about here. Additionally, the Legislature and Gov. Dayton failed to come to an agreement on the Buffer Property Tax Credit, which MCGA worked hard to pass with our agriculture partners. We would like to thank Sen. Bill Weber and Rep. Paul Anderson for bringing HF 4395/SF 3960 forward and working tirelessly to advance the proposal. Even though there was broad agreement on the need for this policy, a disagreement on the source of funding for the credit (Clean Water Funds vs. general funds) could not be overcome to bring it across the finish line.
There are a few agriculture-related bills that have already been signed into law, and we will need to wait to see what the Governor decides on bonding bills, taxes and the supplemental budget. Here is a quick look at where things stand:
What has already been signed into law?
- Extend the prohibition on the Minnesota Department of Transportation to enforce permits for mowing or baling hay in trunk highway right-of-way until April 30, 2019. Chapter 165.
- Protect Minnesota’s B20 mandate by allowing for a ramp-up period in April before the minimum content requirement of 20 percent takes effect May 1. Chapter 133.
- Strengthen data privacy and protection of farm data for University of Minnesota research initiatives. Chapter 140.
- Extend federal 150-mile exemption for agriculture commodities to year-round and extend planting and harvesting period for electronic logging devices to year-round. Chapter 171.
- Exempt temporary grain storage facilities from some Minnesota Pollution Control Agency fugitive air emission standards. Chapter 132.
What is on Governor Dayton’s desk?
(Update: The tax and supplemental budget bill was vetoed by Gov. Dayton on May 23)
Gov. Dayton will need to decide if he will sign, veto or pocket veto the “big three” bills from the legislative session—taxes, supplemental budget and bonding. In the final hours of the legislative session Dayton stated he would likely veto the tax and supplemental budget bills, but indicated he will be taking his time to review them after the Legislature adjourned. MCGA encourages Gov. Dayton to enact the tax, budget and bonding bills. Here is what is at stake for Minnesota agriculture in these three bills:
Taxes
- Full federal conformity on Section 179, accelerated deprecation up to $1 million, applicable in the 2018 tax year
- Prohibit municipalities from implementing excise taxes on specific foods, beverages and food containers
- Clarify homestead status for ownership and operating entities, but language added includes a restriction requiring the land entity and the operating entity have matching ownership
- Establish a school property tax working group to evaluate the impact of school capital investments on farmland property taxes, simplify school levies and coordinate interactions with state general levy
Supplemental Budget
- Add $250,000 for farmer mental health services
- Adjust the minimum eligibility threshold for the Bioincentive Program to enable increased corn utilization for advanced biofuel and biobased chemical production
- Update regulations to help establish and grow value-added aquaculture production (that includes the use of corn as feed in fish farming)
- Extend the Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council and the fertilizer surcharge and account to June 2030
- Provide additional guidance for external peer review of water quality standards
- Expand eligibility to drainage authorities for low-cost financing to implement drainage system improvements through the Agriculture Best Management Practice Loan Program
Bonding
- $35 million for Rural Finance Authority
- $370 million for local road improvement projects and trunk highway improvements
Stay up to date on the latest news from the Capitol by checking the MCGA blog, as well as follow MCGA on Twitter and Facebook.
If you have a question about any of the above or any policy-related issued, please contact Amanda Bilek at abilek@mncorn.org.
