Dear Neighbors,
It was another busy week in St. Paul as committees have kicked into high gear—reviewing important legislation as bills move through the process.
This week, I had two bills heard before committees. The first bill, House File 2938 was heard on Tuesday in the Government Operations and Elections Policy Committee.
HF 2938 extends the sunset of the Agriculture Fertilizer Research and Education Council (AFREC) and its related fee on agricultural fertilizers by 10 years to 2030.
AFREC has requested that the council have its sunset date extended until 2030 so that it can continue to make investments in long-term fertilizer research and best management practices. Currently, the fee of $.40/ton on fertilizer will expire in 2019, with the council sunsetting in 2020.
This organization and its research is important to farmers and agriculture industry groups, many of whom rely on the research produced by AFREC when implementing precision-agriculture based fertilizer decisions.
House File 3271 also received a hearing this week in the Taxes Committee. This bill bill modifies how the recapture tax is applied to qualified farm property if the property fails to satisfy the law’s use or property tax classification requirement during the 3-year period after a decedent’s death.
Perhaps the best part of my job as a state representative is the opportunities I have to meet with constituents. Nearly every week, folks from our district make the trip to St. Paul to discuss the issues that matter most to them.
Please be sure to contact my office if you are planning to be in St. Paul this session. It would be great to meet with you.
Pictured with me is Les Holm from Rainbow Rider Transit. Rainbow Rider Transit is a public transit company serving Douglas, Pope, Grant, Stevens, Traverse, and Todd Counties. In 2017, Rainbow Rider provided 172,702 rides across rural Western Minnesota—with nearly 50% of these rides servicing the elderly and disabled. Thanks for all you do!
Additionally, I was visited by a group of FFA students this week from our area. What an impressive group of students, the future is in good hands!
Finally, this month marks the start of Food Share MN’s March food drive campaign. With this in mind, I encourage you to donate to your local food shelves this month. Visit http://www.mnfoodshare.org/marchcampaign/ for more information.
That’s all for this week’s update. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me to share any thoughts, concerns, or questions you may have. I can be reached by phone at either 651-296-4929 or 701-361-1909. I can also be reached via email at rep.jeff.backer@house.mn.
Have a great weekend,
Jeff