With the University of Minnesota Women's Championship Hockey Team at the Governor's Residence. Also a special congratulations to player Tianna Gunderson from Roseau!
Congratulations to Gopher Women's Hockey Team Head Coach Brad Frost on an outstanding season!
With Dalene Monsebroten, Josh Hagen, Dale Narlock and Darryl Tveitbakk from the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association.
Dear Neighbors,
Here is an update about what's happening at the Capitol this week.
Buffers
On Thursday, the House passed clarifying language to last year's buffer legislation to protect private ditches. This small change should be a huge relief to farmers in Greater Minnesota who were concerned the governor's office and the Department of Natural Resources were misinterpreting legislative intent to include buffers on both public and private ditches.
This bill has received support from both Democrats and Republicans, as well as rural counties, farm groups and watershed districts across Minnesota. Twenty-four Democrats voted against the legislation, with all but one living in the Twin Cities metro area. All House Republicans supported the bill.
Some changes to the bill include eliminating the "benefitted area" language in statute to identify that public water inventory and public ditches will be subjected to the buffer law, but private ditches will be exempt. It also gives buffer jurisdiction from state to local agencies, giving county and watershed districts the opportunity to manage implementation and enforcement. Finally, it ensures fair compensation to farmers by basing property values on land prior to buffer installation.
We want to make sure this compromise law is implemented in a way that is clear, and we want to ensure it's implemented in a way that is fair and does not place an undue burden on landowners, farmers and local units of government.
Workforce Housing Legislation
This week in the House Taxes Committee, my workforce housing bill was heard. As folks in Greater Minnesota know, workforce housing is a major issue in many of our communities, and this bill would create additional grant and loan opportunities through the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) to help do everything from renovating and preserving aging housing to creating new manufactured homes in communities experiencing housing shortages.
The additional revenue gathered by the state from the mortgage registry tax and deed tax above and beyond the revenue collected in the previous fiscal year would be dedicated to grants and loans distributed by the MHFA. The program would create the opportunity to increase workforce and affordable homeownership in Minnesota and would sunset after 10 years.
Additionally, the bill focuses on homeownership instead of just rentals, which will require less public investment, provide a boost to local workers in real estate related industries and help more Minnesotans become homeowners.
Klondike Project
My Klondike flood retention project bill for the Two Rivers Watershed District in Roseau and Kittson counties was recently amended onto the omnibus lands bill in the Ways and Means Committee.
Currently, some lands affected by the Klondike project are owned by the state, and my legislation brings the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in as a partner on this project.
To ease the financial costs, the state would donate some land to the local watershed district as well as trade school trust lands in the project area. Northwest Minnesota does have some school trust lands, and the Director of School Trust Lands has spoken out in favor of trading those lands for this project.
The Klondike Project is important for flood mitigation in our area, and I will continue to work with all parties involved to get it completed.
Reminder: Public Meetings on Sandpiper Scheduled in Thief River Falls and Crookston
Staff from the Department of Commerce, the Public Utilities Commission and Enbridge/North Dakota Pipeline Company will be hosting public comment meetings regarding the proposed Sandpiper Pipeline which will go from North Dakota to Wisconsin, running through communities in Northwest Minnesota.
The Sandpiper Pipeline will help improve the safety of oil transport from North Dakota, as well and bring jobs and property tax revenue to our part of the state. I hope folks will attend one of these meeting and share their input to keep the project moving forward.
The following local meetings have been scheduled in Crookston and Thief River Falls:
Wednesday, April 27, 2016, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Crookston Inn and Convention Center, 2200 University Avenue, Crookston, MN 56716
Thursday, April 28, 2016, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Ralph Engelstad Arena, 525 Brooks Avenue North, Thief River Falls, MN 56701
In the News
I sat down with Minnesota Capitol News to talk about priorities for this shortened session. You can see the full interview here: http://bit.ly/1TlkXjS
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My door is always open to the needs and priorities of our area. Please feel free to let me know if I can be of assistance to you and your family. I am here to serve you!
Dan
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