Hello from the State Capitol,
Minnesota House finance committees were putting in overtime this week as all major spending bills needed to receive committee approval by today. As this is a budget setting year, all areas within state government will have updated budget targets, and the House has begun that budget setting process.
Once lawmakers return from the Easter/Passover break, I expect individual budget bills to begin arriving on the House floor for passage. The Senate will go through the same process, and then negotiations between the two legislative bodies will begin.
DEPREDATION LEGISLATION APPROVED ON HOUSE FLOOR
The Minnesota House has approved my bill that would appropriate $250,000 in the fiscal year 2025 to compensate farmers for crop or fence damage caused by elk and livestock killed or crippled by wolves.
Under the wolf depredation program, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) compensates livestock owners whose livestock were killed or crippled by a wolf. The cap for compensation to a livestock owner is $20,000. Under the elk depredation program, the MDA compensates landowners whose crops or fence are damaged by elk, with compensation also capped at $20,000.
The problem is current funding for depredation has been depleted. Over this past year, depredation claims have exceeded funding in both accounts and currently MDA is unable to settle those current claims. My bill would backfill these accounts to help pay for the 2025 claims. The bill now heads to the Minnesota Senate for its approval.
LOCAL VISITORS
I appreciated having Paul Dziengel and Jacob Bakke testify on HF1859, my wind turbine setback bill last week in the House Energy Finance and Policy Committee!
HF1859 as amended would not allow permits to be granted to a wind energy conversion system or solar energy generating system located outside of the metropolitan area that is within 500 feet of a county highway or within 500 feet of a residence unless that owner and the owner of the proposed project agree to a lesser setback.
This is an attempt to address the concerns of several of my constituents back home in District 1A. We heard from my testifiers about their recognition that clean, renewable energy such as wind has a place in the grid. The committee also heard about their concerns…concerns about noise pollution and concerns about land values, concerns that I think are valid and need to be considered as these projects are pushed forward.