NEWS RELEASE
Rep. Hodan Hassan
Minnesota House of Representatives
District 62B – 651-296-0294 – rep.hodan.hassan@house.mn.gov
597 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marlee Schlegel
651-296-9873 or marlee.schlegel@house.mn.gov
May 3, 2024
Minnesota House Passes 2024 Jobs Budget Bill
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Tonight, the Minnesota House of Representative passed the 2024 Jobs Budget bill. The bill is made up of policy and finance provisions from both the Economic Development committee, chaired by Rep. Hodan Hassan (DFL – Minneapolis) and the Workforce Development committee, chaired by Rep. Jay Xiong (DFL – Saint Paul.) The bill passed on a vote of 74-52.
“This bill accomplishes a strong balance of investment in both rural and metro Minnesota communities,” said Rep. Hassan, the author of the bill. “It touches all corners of Minnesota and even includes projects and priorities of my colleagues across the aisle. I’m proud that we were able to build a strong, responsible supplemental budget bill. It’s an excellent follow up to the historic investments we made last year. As this is my last session in the Minnesota House serving as the Chair of the Economic Development committee, I’m incredibly proud of this bill and the work we did together.”
The bill makes technical changes to a handful of Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development(DEED) programs to make it easier for fee-based small business loans under the Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Program, the Expanding Opportunity Fund Program, and Community Wealth Building Program to cap or, for some borrowers, eliminate interest rates for loans administered under these programs at 10%. The bill also includes clarifying language on application cycles and how Small Business Assistance Partnership grants can be used.
The bill also invests just over $1 million to Explore MN Film to move the responsibility for managing state incentives for film and television production from the MN Film and TV Board, a non-profit organization, to Explore MN, a state agency. The bill would establish a new office, Explore MN Film, within the state's tourism agency to promote Minnesota as a location for film and tv productions. Explore MN Film will manage the state’s film production tax credit and streamline the state's dealings with film studios and producers to bring good-paying union jobs to Minnesota.
"This jobs bill was crafted with input from Minnesotans who wrote letters, testified in committee, shared their stories and needs. We listened to them and today we are addressing their challenges,” said Rep. Xiong. “By empowering our workforce with new skills and opportunities, we're not just creating jobs, we're building a stronger, more resilient economy that benefits all Minnesotans."
The workforce portion of the bill invests $17 million to 42 different organizations dedicated to connecting Minnesotans, young and old, to the workforce. It includes familiar partners like Summit Academy and the International Institute of Minnesota, which will expand its existing job training programs to new occupations. It includes innovative pilot projects like a scholarship program in Shakopee that pays the full cost of college for eligible students at certain MinnState schools when they agree to take a job with a local employer. The workforce portion of the budget also builds on the $2 million investments in the 2023 Jobs and Labor bill to WomenVenture.
An additional $1 million in this bill will allow WomenVenture to provide increased support to even more child care providers across the state and ultimately increase the number of child care providers. The bipartisan budget also contains proposals to establish a Center for Nursing Equity and Excellence at the U of M, improve water quality in Austin with more water operators, and invest funds in Lake County’s Ambulance Service.
Video of the floor debate can be found here.
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