Rep. Andrew Falk
NEWS RELEASE
Minnesota House of Representatives
District 17A 651-296-4228 – rep.andrew.falk@house.mn
439 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Privratsky
(651) 296-6860
May 20, 2013
HOUSE APPROVES ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES & AG BUDGET
NEW RESOURCES DELIVER STATEWIDE ECONOMIC BENEFITS
ST. PAUL, MN — Lawmakers in the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the conference committee report on the Omnibus Environment, Natural Resources, & Agriculture finance bill this week by a vote of 71 to 60. The bill takes serious steps to address shrinking water supplies throughout Minnesota.
Pending a vote in the Minnesota Senate, the bill is set to be signed into law by Governor Dayton.
The budget bill provides significant support for farmers and Minnesota’s ag-economy, equips the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) with new resources and tools to address shrinking water supplies without raising water fees, and takes serious steps to protect Minnesota’s economy from the spread of invasive species like Asian Carp.
Rep. Jean Wagenius (DFL—Minneapolis), chair of the House Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance Committee, praised the bill for its statewide economic benefits.
“This is a solid bill with significant support for Minnesota’s agriculture and outdoor recreation industries,” said Rep. Wagenius. “New resources in this bill will make sure our children and grandchildren have clean water to drink and our businesses have the long-term water resources they need to prosper.”
Rep. Andrew Falk (DFL—Murdock), one of only a handful of farmers in Legislature, said the legislation takes meaningful action to improve rural communities’ economic vitality.
"We invested more resources into agriculture to further enhance opportunities for beginning farmers, said Rep. Falk. "We also focused on providing greater access to markets for Minnesota farmers ranging all the way from Farm-to-School programs to growing our international exports."
Contrary to the Republican claim that the DFL-led legislature would be “anti-ag”, this bill increases funding for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) by over $1.4 million to support farmers and ag-producers throughout the state.
Investments in Minnesota’s Agriculture Growth, Research and Innovation (AGRI) fund included in the bill are designed to create economic growth in rural communities. Specifically, the AGRI fund investments will expand the Farm-to-School program to increase the amount of local produce in local schools, provide state grants for the start up, transition, and expansion of family farm livestock operations, assist with the start-up of any farm, fund research on conventional and cover crops, and explore development of renewable forms of energy. It also appropriates $1 million each year for county agriculture society fair grants in the next biennium.
The bill also takes responsible steps to prevent the spread of invasive species like Asian Carp to protect Minnesota’s multi-billion dollar natural resource and outdoor recreation industries.
For example, the bill funds recommendations from Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), including $8.7 million for the University of Minnesota to create an aquatic invasive species research center to develop new techniques to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species. The LCCMR is a panel consisting of 17 elected state officials and citizens who make funding recommendations to the Legislature for the Environmental Trust Fund, which is funded by Minnesota State Lottery proceeds.
Lastly, the bill appropriates an additional $450,000 for food inspections to keep Minnesota’s food supply healthy and protect our workforce from food-borne illnesses.
###