Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: House File 3558 was presented and then laid over for possible inclusion in the tax omnibus bill. The bill would move the homeowner property tax refund and renter’s refund into the income tax system as refundable credits, with the stated goals of speeding up payments, simplifying filing, and increasing participation by people who currently qualify but do not claim the benefit. The bill also changes the income measure from household income to federal adjusted gross income, which the author said would align the program with the income tax form and expand eligibility. The sponsor argued the change would help both homeowners and renters receive refunds sooner and noted the renter credit previously operated through the income tax before 1981. He also acknowledged timing and administrative issues for homeowners because property tax statements now go out in March, and said outreach would be needed for people who do not file income taxes. Revenue estimates were described as large, with the sponsor citing significant increases in refunds and participation, including additional homeowners and renters who would benefit from the AGI change and from moving the credit onto the income tax. During member questions, Representative Swazinski asked whether renters whose rent was paid by the state or otherwise not actually paid by the claimant would still qualify. Staff responded that the current program is based on a certificate of rent paid and that the definition of rent constituting property taxes is 17 percent of gross rent actually paid in cash by the claimant, suggesting rent not actually paid by the claimant likely would not count. Representative Liz Guard expressed support for the AGI change as a simplification for filers. No vote was taken; the bill was simply laid over for possible inclusion in the tax omnibus bill.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee met with a quorum present and first approved the March 8, 2022 minutes and the March 14, 2022 calendar. It then took up House File 726, a proposed constitutional amendment to add equal protection language stating that equality under the law shall not be abridged or denied on account of gender. Representative Bonner argued the amendment would place a basic equality question before Minnesota voters and said the state constitution should reflect equal rights for all citizens. Dr. Christie Janego testified in support, describing her military service, church leadership, and work in public policy. She said women have long served in the military and other leadership roles and that equal rights are consistent with their service and sacrifice. No opposition testimony was presented in the transcript. After discussion, the committee voted on the motion to refer House File 726 to the General Register. The motion prevailed on a voice vote, and the bill was referred to the General Register. The committee then announced there was no further business and adjourned.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The House Early Childhood Finance and Policy Committee met virtually, approved the minutes from March 8, and then received a presentation on Minnesota’s early childhood governance report prepared by Management Analysis and Development at the request of the Children’s Cabinet. Matt Kane outlined the report’s background, including prior Minnesota efforts to reorganize early childhood governance, the legislature’s $200,000 appropriation for the study, and the research process, which included literature review, nine discussion sessions, interviews with more than 100 stakeholders, and conversations with experts and officials in Minnesota and other states. The presentation emphasized that governance matters but is only one factor in early childhood outcomes, and that no single model is clearly superior based on current research. Kane described three broad governance approaches: consolidation into a single agency, coordination across existing agencies, and coordination supported by a formal office. He reviewed potential benefits and drawbacks of consolidation and coordination, including improved alignment, visibility, accountability, and one-stop access on the one hand, and implementation complexity, possible fragmentation, unclear authority, and political vulnerability on the other. He stressed that stakeholders and experts offered conflicting views on issues such as funding, influence, and efficiency, and that the report did not endorse one model over another. Kane also summarized options and considerations from the report, including continuing coordinated work with more staff and authority, expanding the Children’s Cabinet, creating a formal coordinating office, consolidating programs within existing departments, or pursuing broader consolidation. He said successful change would require clear goals, stakeholder engagement, planning, and dedicated resources. Assistant Commissioner Erin Bailey then introduced the Children’s Cabinet and its role in aligning people, data, money, and policy around children, but the transcript provided does not show any committee vote or final action beyond receiving the report and discussion.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee convened with a quorum, approved the February 24 minutes, and then heard an informational presentation from Dr. Robert Lempert of RAND, who also serves as a coordinating lead author for the IPCC Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report. He outlined the IPCC process and said the new report finds climate impacts are already widespread, pervasive, and in some cases irreversible, with examples including drought and wildfire in California, heavier rainfall and flooding in the Midwest, and harms to water quality, soils, crops, health, and ecosystems. He emphasized that risks to people and natural systems are expected to increase, that attribution science has improved, and that the report places strong emphasis on adaptation and resilience. Dr. Lempert described adaptation measures that can reduce risk and provide co-benefits, such as restoring wetlands and rivers, moving development out of floodplains, using nature-based solutions, improving soil management, expanding urban tree canopy, strengthening disaster warning systems, and training health workers. He said adaptation is often still incremental, faces significant gaps, and can reach limits or create maladaptation if poorly planned. He also identified enabling conditions for better adaptation, including finance, governance, capacity building, knowledge, and technology, and said states can help by updating building codes and land-use rules to reflect future climate conditions, aligning insurance and disclosure with climate science, supporting local and tribal climate plans, and improving monitoring of adaptation efforts. Members asked about the growing certainty in IPCC findings, the cost of emissions reductions, land use conflicts between renewable energy and agriculture, and practical adaptation steps for Minnesota and the Midwest. Lempert said the stronger language reflects better science and a clearer human signal in the climate record, but he deferred detailed mitigation-cost questions to the upcoming Working Group III report. In response to Midwest adaptation questions, he pointed to more intense precipitation, forward-looking building codes, larger culverts, permeable pavement, wetlands and river restoration, soil management, and other nature-based and infrastructure measures. He also addressed a question about a climate skeptic by declining to speculate on motives and reiterating that the IPCC relies on multiple lines of evidence. No committee votes or bill actions were taken beyond adoption of the minutes during the portion of the meeting provided.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Energy and Utility Finance and Policy Committee met on September 10, 2022, with one bill before it, introduced by Senator Benson, focused on making carbon capture and carbon sequestration an acceptable state policy tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Benson framed the bill as part of Minnesota’s role in developing carbon-neutral products and a new energy future. The committee also heard extensive informational testimony on carbon sequestration from Kevin Connors of the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center, who described the science, geology, and regulatory framework for carbon capture and storage. Connors explained that effective geologic storage requires deep formations with suitable porosity, permeability, cap rock, and saline conditions, and said Minnesota lacks the geology for large-scale storage, meaning captured CO2 would likely need to be transported to places such as North Dakota’s Williston Basin. He described the Underground Injection Control program under the Safe Drinking Water Act, including Class 6 wells for CO2 storage, and emphasized safeguards such as CO2-resistant casing and cement, protection of drinking water, monitoring wells, groundwater and soil gas baseline sampling, and ongoing verification and accounting. He also said North Dakota has primacy over this program and is a leader in developing the regulatory framework. Committee members asked questions about the physical state of injected CO2, and Connors said it is compressed into a supercritical state before injection, then moves through pore spaces in the formation and is contained by cap rock. He said projects typically involve about 20 years of injection over relatively small areas, and noted that North Dakota was days or weeks away from its first active storage project, with three permits already issued, including projects associated with Milton R. Young Station, Project Tundra, and Red Trail Energy. The discussion also touched on the role of carbon capture in supporting reliable, affordable energy and North Dakota’s carbon-neutral-by-2030 goal. No vote or final action on the bill was taken in the portion provided.

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1183, house

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard Senate File 3257, which would grant Children’s Minnesota an exemption from the hospital bed moratorium to add 22 inpatient pediatric mental health beds in St. Paul. Senator Draheim said the bill was needed because youth mental health beds are often unavailable, it would have no state fiscal impact, and it should move quickly. Dr. Gigi Challa of Children’s Minnesota testified in support, describing a growing pediatric mental health crisis, increased emergency department visits and transfers for psychiatric care, and the need for a new 22-bed unit to expand access. Natasha Trynowski of Citizens Council for Health Freedom also supported the bill but used the hearing to argue for repealing the hospital moratorium entirely. Kayla Albrecht, a Children’s nurse, supported the beds but warned that moving the PICU out of St. Paul could delay care for medically fragile children needing psychiatric treatment. Committee members asked about the PICU relocation and public review process; Children’s said the PICU move was separate, the official notification had not yet been sent, and the public interest review would include those issues. Senator Koran raised concerns about crisis care and prevention, while other members expressed support for the beds. The committee then passed the motion to send SF 3257 to general orders. The committee then took up Senate File 3248, authored by Senator Rosen, which would authorize an exemption for Fairview and Acadia Healthcare to build a new 144-bed adult and geriatric mental health and addiction hospital at the former Bethesda Hospital site. Senator Rosen framed the bill as another response to the state’s mental health crisis and the need for more inpatient capacity. Beth Heinz of Fairview and Dr. Rich Levine testified that Fairview is the state’s largest provider of mental health and addiction services, that inpatient psychiatric care is increasingly difficult to sustain, and that the new standalone facility would be purpose-built for psychiatric patients, accept patients regardless of insurance or ability to pay, and work in coordination with Fairview’s broader system. The hearing continued with discussion of the hospital moratorium and the need for additional beds, with members generally emphasizing the urgency of expanding mental health treatment capacity.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The committee met on March 9, 2022, with a quorum present and first took up Senate File 3479, a $10 million Rural Finance Authority emergency relief bill for drought-affected farmers. Senator Westrom explained the amended bill would shift more of the money into grants, including $5 million for livestock producers, $1.5 million for specialty crops or livestock, $1 million for the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, $500,000 for Department of Agriculture emergency response, and $500,000 for deer farmers. The amendment also broadened eligibility from a small set of counties to USDA-designated drought counties and added language to allow use of previously appropriated emergency funds. The A6 amendment was adopted by voice vote. Commissioner Peterson said the department was not opposed to the revised bill, though it preferred its original language, and noted some uncertainty about the deer farmer provision and the county designation language. He also said the department’s broader drought and emergency response bill would be coming later. Paul Hugin of the Department of Agriculture described how the grant program would likely be administered quickly, using lessons from COVID relief programs, with electronic applications preferred but paper applications available. Senators asked about reporting requirements and the reduced RFA share; staff said an emergency report would be required, and Peterson warned the lower RFA amount could leave less cushion for future loan demand. The committee then passed Senate File 3479 and re-referred it to the Finance Committee. The committee then heard Senate File 3711, Senator James’s bill for a $20 million appropriation to the University of Minnesota’s Forever Green initiative. Dr. Don Wyse described the program’s goal of developing perennial and winter annual crops that provide continuous living cover, protect soil and water, and create new market opportunities for farmers. He said the initiative is intended to support breeding, agronomic work, and infrastructure for crop development, and emphasized benefits such as cleaner water, soil health, carbon sequestration, and new food, feed, and energy products. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill; no vote was taken on it during the portion of the meeting provided.