SAINT PAUL – Tonight, the Minnesota House passed a Jobs & Local Projects and Critical Economic Development bill with investments in infrastructure and economic stimulus to help communities bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation invests $1.879 billion toward public assets such as higher education institutions, clean water infrastructure, roads and bridges, parks, trails, and more. It also contains supplemental state budget appropriations, including funding to keep the correctional facilities at Togo and Willow River operational, and a series of tax provisions to assist businesses and farmers.
“Our economy is struggling right now, and we have to do everything we can to create good-paying job opportunities for Minnesotans to help families get through this crisis. Our public infrastructure also needs some urgent improvements, and these investments will help our communities deliver basic expectations like clean water and safe roads,” said Rep. Dave Lislegard (DFL – Aurora). “This bill is an example of what’s possible when we work together across the aisle at the Capitol, and when business and labor come together to set aside politics and do what’s right for the future of our state.”
Locally on the Iron Range, the bill contains funding for projects such as Eveleth’s public building renovations, Virginia’s regional public safety center, the East Mesabi Joint Water System, the Northeast Regional Corrections Center, and more. A full list of the projects included can be accessed here.
The bill delivers $7.5 million to the Department of Corrections to keep the correctional facilities at Togo and Willow River operational. The prisons – home to the boot-camp style Challenge Incarceration Program – had previously been selected for closure. Other budget items in the bill include funding for a temporary pay increase for personal care attendants, $16 million for direct care and treatment programs at the Department of Human Services, $10.3 million to allow the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to test sexual assault examination kits, a salary increase for state troopers to keep them in line with other law enforcement agencies, and others.
The legislation also contains a series of tax provisions, including full section 179 conformity to the federal tax code which will help businesses and farmers. It also contains a policy fix for short-term rental properties, flexibility for the Minnesota State High School League’s sales tax proceeds, and an expansion of the homestead property tax exclusion for the spouses of deceased disabled veterans.