Dear neighbors,
The comprehensive environment and natural resources budget was approved by the Environment and Natural Resources Finance Division yesterday! Its next stop will be the Ways and Means Committee.
You can learn more about the bill (HF 2209) in the Session Daily article available here.
Photo credit: John Kaul
Agriculture and Food Finance Bill
The Agriculture and Food Finance and Policy Division, another committee that I serve on, also passed their budget bill on Thursday. The legislation (HF 2200) would provide funding for farmer mental health outreach, address the outbreak of chronic wasting disease, support beginning farmers, and connect schools with food grown or raised by Minnesota farmers. It will also travel to Ways and Means.
A number of my bills were part of the budget that was passed, including a proposal to study the economic benefit that community solar gardens provide to farmers and local economies (HF 1796), an increase in fines for those who damage public lands by using pesticides (HF 1292), and a measure that would prohibit labelling plants as pollinator friendly if they were treated with pesticides (HF 1908).
Watch the first public hearing on the agriculture budget here.
Legislative Audit Commission Topics
The Legislative Audit Commission, which I chair, met this morning to select the topics that will be evaluated in 2020. We chose the following topics:
Please stay tuned for more updates on the state budget and continue sharing your questions and feedback. I appreciate hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Rick Hansen
State Representative