Legislative Update: Bills come to fruition in St. Paul with end of session near
By Amanda Bilek, senior public policy director, and Alex Trunnell, public policy specialist
We are in the final week of the regular session of the Minnesota Legislature. The Minnesota Constitution requires that the legislature adjourn on May 18, and even though COVID-19 has disrupted normal legislative operations, work has been ongoing in committees and the floor to advance needed legislation.
COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on the state’s budget over the course of the 2020 session. At the beginning of the session the state had a $1.5 billion surplus which is now projected to be a $2.4 billion deficit. This drastic change of direction for the state’s budget will force the state to address the current biennium’s financial commitments. Minnesota will likely have a budget shortfall when the legislature convenes the 2021 session next January.
The financial climate will influence the final tax bill, budget bills and a bonding bill as the legislature concludes its final week of regular session. Legislators will also likely will be meeting in special session throughout the summer.
Agriculture Policy Bill (HF 4285/SF 4223)
Authored by Rep. Jeanne Poppe in the House and Sen. Bill Weber in the Senate, the bill was taken up by the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon and passed 132-1. It was indicated last week in the Senate Policy Committee that the House and Senate were in agreement on final bill language to avoid a conference committee.
While the bill is mostly technical in nature, both the House and Senate bills include a report on biofuels, directing the commissioner of agriculture to outline Minnesota’s ability to reduce its reliance on petroleum and reduce greenhouse gas emissions with biofuels. As directed in the bill, the report will recommend specific policies, identify biofuel infrastructure needs, and identify cost-effective incentives to expedite higher blends of biofuels. The biofuels report requested by the legislature will include policy and program recommendations determined by the Governor’s Council on Biofuels. The Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) is represented by MCGA Chairman Brian Thalmann.
Agriculture Supplemental Finance Bill (HF 4490/SF 4395)
The Agriculture Supplemental Finance Bill is being authored by Rep. Jeanne Poppe in the House and Sen. Torrey Westrom in the Senate. Both bills are currently aligned on spending amounts and program funding, but a few policy and language pieces are being negotiated before the bills can be passed off the House and Senate floors. A few key items for funding in the bill include:
- $50,000 for grain storage facility safety equipment grants and $50,000 for farm safety outreach
- $675,000 for upgrades to the Veterinarian Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Minnesota
- An increase of $40,000 for farmer and rural mental health and a $60,000 increase for farm advocate services
- $175,000 for a farm loan origination fee grants to cover 50 percent of an origination fee for eligible farm debt restructuring loans
Taxes
Both the House and Senate have Section 179 proposals. Senate Tax Committee Chair Roger Chamberlain included full section 179 conformity in the Senate tax bill that was passed off the Senate floor at the end of April. Included in the House bill last week, House Tax Committee Chair Paul Marquardt proposed section 179 expensing on like-kind exchanges for tax year 2018 and 2019 and restructuring taxes owed on property that previously would have qualified for section 179.
Be sure to follow the MCGA blog and its social channels (Facebook, Twitter) for updates. You can also follow me on Twitter (@AjBilek).
