St. Paul, Minn.- This evening, the House passed its jobs, economic development, housing, environment and agriculture supplemental omnibus bill. The Ag portion of the bill includes some new initiatives, however they are being funded by shifting resources targeted specifically to address avian flu outbreaks rather than using a minuscule portion of the $900 million budget surplus.
Rep. Jeanne Poppe (DFL-Austin) did not vote for the final bill and released the following statement:
“When we have a healthy $900 million surplus, we should be utilizing our resources to advance Minnesota farmers, taxpayers, and consumers. The rationale to do supplemental budget bills comes about specifically because there is a surplus, not by spending spent money. When you spend obligated money on new initiatives, you put the current spending initiative at risk. There was bipartisan support to increase the Ag budget in 2015 with money designated to respond to the Avian Flu crisis. The much sought after money of 2015 is now seemingly ‘up for grabs’. This year, that money is being spent on worthwhile projects, however, it leaves a potential gap from where the money is coming. I do not disagree on what the money is being spent, including the one-time veterinary research and equipment grant to the University of Minnesota and the funding for the tractor rollover protection pilot program. I do however have concerns about taking it from within the current budget."
The House jobs, economic development, housing, environment and agriculture supplemental omnibus bill now heads to the Senate for review. If the Senate does not agree with the House language, a conference committee is necessary to work out the differences. A conference committee will only be able to negotiate the differences if the House and Senate Leadership agree to budget/spending targets. With only three and a half weeks remaining in the legislative session and such a wide spread difference of viewpoints between the majority parties of the two bodies, it seems difficult to see how an agreement will be reached and thus get to a successful conclusion.
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