Legislative update: 2023 session nears final stretch
By Amanda Bilek, Senior Public Policy Director, MCGA
The Minnesota Legislature is back in session today after a brief recess for the Easter and Passover holidays, and although a lot already happened in the first few months of session, lawmakers still need to finalize a new two-year state budget. In mid-March, House and Senate DFL leaders and Governor Walz announced a joint budget agreement with spending targets for various finance committees. The joint budget agreement, if enacted, would result in a nearly $72 billion two-year state budget. The current two-year state budget is $52 billion. The joint agreement proposes $10 billion in one-time spending of the state’s $17.5 billion surplus.
The proposed joint target for agriculture is $48 million over base. Although this is an increase, there was well over $100 million in new ag spending requests through various bills that were introduced in the first couple months of the session. Given the record budget surplus and the economic impact that agriculture has on Minnesota’s economy, MCGA was disappointed to not see more resources dedicated to agriculture.
Once the House and Senate committees had their budget targets, the various committees could begin their work of assembling their omnibus finance bills. Those bills needed to be passed out of their committees of jurisdiction by April 4. So how did policy priorities for the Minnesota Corn Growers Association fare in those omnibus bills?
Expanding homegrown biofuels
Biofuels infrastructure — Both the House and Senate omnibus agriculture bills include funding for grants to fuel retailers to replace infrastructure capable of dispensing higher blends of ethanol, but the levels vary slightly. The Senate has included $4.5 million per year for a total of $9 million, and the House bill includes $3 million per year for a total of $6 million.
Biofuels reporting — The Senate Commerce Committee has included a provision to require aggregated sales reporting of mid-level ethanol blends by retailers on a monthly basis. This provision will help ensure high-quality and accurate data that demonstrates the high demand in Minnesota for lower-priced ethanol blends that also help improve air quality.
Assisting farmers in sustainability initiatives
Soil health — The Senate agriculture bill includes $4 million for a Soil Health Program at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and the House agriculture bill includes $500,000 for the program. A separate budget, the Clean Water Fund, includes a total of $3.5 million for this program. The program goal is to provide grants to farmers to purchase or retrofit equipment to implement soil health practices, such as reduced tillage, nutrient management, cover crops, or precision agriculture.
Crop protection — The Senate agriculture bill does not include any state level changes or labeling requirements for federally approved pesticides, herbicides, and other crop protection products. The House agriculture bill contains a few provisions that raise concerns. The House environment bill contains several provisions related to treated seed disposal, cities setting their own pesticide ordinances, and monitoring for the presence of neonicotinoids and PFAS at biofuel production facilities. The Senate environment bill does not contain any of these provisions.
Agriculture research — Both the House and Senate agriculture bills maintain funding for the Agriculture Research, Education, Extension, and Technology Transfer program but there are some additional carve-outs that will need to be worked out in conference committee to help ensure the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences can maintain its current hiring schedule for research and extension positions.
Strengthening rural communities
Tax policies — The House and Senate have not yet proposed omnibus tax bills. The joint budget agreement includes $3 billion for taxes, aid, and credits but we won’t know the details for how that funding will be directed until we see House and Senate omnibus tax bills.
Broadband — The joint budget agreement includes $100 million for the Border-to-Border Grant Program to continue the build-out of broadband across Minnesota.
Transportation — The joint budget agreement includes $1.07 billion for transportation, and the House and Senate transportation committees passed their omnibus bills before the recess. The House and Senate transportation bills include increased funding for road and bridge infrastructure, but the bills also contain new sources of revenue such as a fee on personal deliveries to residences and license tab fees used to bolster the increased funding for roads and bridges.
We will continue to keep you updated on these issues and others that may arise in the remaining six weeks of the legislative session.
