May 1, 2024
Minnesota House Passes 2024 Environment and Natural Resources Budget and Policy Bill
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed HF 3911, the 2024 Environment and Natural Resources Budget and Policy bill on a vote of 68-63. The legislation, authored by Representative Rick Hansen (DFL – South St. Paul), includes significant investments in tree planting and addressing emerald ash borer, policies strengthening and enforcing Minnesota’s air quality statutes, and substantial provisions dealing with the state’s solid waste problems.
The Environment and Natural Resources Budget and Policy bill invests over $46 million in protecting Minnesota’s water, air, soil, and wildlife. The bill includes over $19 million in trees and tree planting grants throughout Minnesota, with a focus on environmental justice areas. It includes additional funding for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for oversight and enforcement, funding for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that includes improvements to ATV trails in greater Minnesota, and funding for the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) including funding for the Lawns to Legumes Program.
“After last year’s historic investments in environmental stewardship, we are not slowing down in our mission of preventing pollution and protecting our air, water, soil, and wildlife,” said Rep. Hansen, Chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee. “This year the legislature is investing over $19 million in trees, increasing oversight and penalties for repeat polluters, and taking major steps to address landfills and our solid waste issue.”
The bill includes significant policy provisions aimed at environmental protection and pollution prevention. The bill increases the MPCA’s enforcement authority, increases civil penalties for repeat polluters, and requires emissions testing protocols for the top 30 facilities that pose the greatest risk to human health. The legislation also includes Representative Sydney Jordan’s Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act, a major step forward in dealing with solid waste by ensuring that packaging producers are responsible for the waste they create and are incentivized to increase recycled content.
“Across Minnesota we are inundated with packaging, from our doorsteps to store shelves. Packaging waste and printed paper now account for 40% of our garbage,” said Rep. Jordan, Vice Chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee. “The burden of managing this ever-growing deluge of packaging waste currently falls on local governments - and taxpayers. Today’s bill takes steps to ensure the producers of this waste are paying their fair share.”
This year’s Environment and Natural Resources bill builds on last year’s historic legislation that invested over $670 million in new environment and natural resources funding. That bill included a nation-leading PFAS prevention package, addressed issues like chronic wasting disease, emerald ash borer, and aquatic invasive species, and added stronger protections for Minnesotans in environmental justice areas.
More information can be found in the bill language, nonpartisan research summary, and spreadsheet. A recording of the floor debate and final vote can be found here.
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