Dear Neighbor,
The Legislature returned to St. Paul this week after a brief break to observe the Easter and Passover holidays. Conference committee work has kicked into high gear as we work to resolve differences between House and Senate budget bills so they can come up for consideration for final approval and then move on to the governor for his action.
I am serving the conference committee responsible for handling the omnibus finance bill pertaining to agriculture. The joint panel is a bipartisan group of 10 and the hope is we can emerge from the conference committee with a finished bill that is even better than the one which was approved 134-0 in the House.
The session is scheduled to adjourn just over a month from now, so much will take place between now and then as we look to establish a new two-year budget for the state.
In other news, I have accepted an appointment to serve as co-chair of a regional committee of legislators. The Midwestern Legislative Conference Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee is a bipartisan group and I will be working with leaders from 11 states and four Canadian provinces. The mission is to enhance the economic relationship between the Midwestern states and neighboring Canadian provinces and to support efforts to ensure viable rural communities, strong agricultural and natural resource industries and environments.
The ANRC has many issues to address, including rural economies, agriculture, energy, forestry and wildlife. There also are numerous federal issues to examine, such as food safety and trade as discussions begin on the 2018 farm bill.
Each state and province in the region can appoint as many as six legislators to serve on this committee. It is an honor to serve as co-chair of this committee and I look forward to addressing the challenges we face.
Have a good weekend and I’ll be back with more news from the Capitol soon.
Sincerely,
Paul