Public weighs in on omnibus jobs and energy bill

The omnibus jobs and energy bill drew words of praise and objection — sometimes both from the same testifier — as the House Job Growth and Energy Affordability Policy and Finance Committee began hearing public comments on HF2209 Monday morning.

In a packed Capitol committee room, committee members listened to more than 25 testifiers before recessing for a House Floor session. The panel reconvened in the afternoon to hear from a growing list of testifiers.

No action is to be taken Monday. The committee is scheduled to debate the bill and any amendments Tuesday. The companion jobs omnibus bill, SF1937, sponsored by Sen. Jeremy Miller (R-Winona), was to be heard by the Senate Finance Committee Monday.

WATCH Full video from Monday morning's meeting of the House Job Growth and Energy Affordability Policy and Finance Committee 

The 218-page, $380 million omnibus bill, unveiled Thursday, includes provisions ranging from energy and telecommunications to commerce and economic development.

Shawntera Hardy, commissioner of the Department of Employment and Economic Development, called a proposed reduction in the department’s number of deputy commissioners from four to one “arbitrary and devoid of any [strategic] purpose.”

Proponents of a subsidy for a planned launch of a shrimp-farming industry got grilled by Rep. Tim Mahoney (DFL-St. Paul) over the project’s ratio of state dollars invested to prospective jobs created.

Several testifiers complained about proposed changes to how local governmental bodies regulate installation of small wireless facilities, such as boxes mounted on existing poles. Rep. Marion O'Neill (R-Maple Lake) said a planned amendment with nearly 30 changes to that section of the bill would address those concerns.