At 5:00 pm today, the Minnesota Legislature reaches its third and final legislative deadline. This is the point at which budget bills must be passed out of their committee of origin to either the Senate Finance Committee or the House Ways and Means Committee, which vet each budget bill before it goes to a floor vote. As a result, this week was a flurry of committee activity as legislators wrap up crafting budget bills.

The Legislature also begins its Easter/Passover recess today. Legislators return to the Capitol on April 21 to begin voting on budget bills, just under a month before the constitutionally mandated adjournment of the legislative session.

Bills this week:

HF 601 (Burkel)/SF 1647 (Johnson) - Depredation compensation payments appropriation.

Summary: Provides money in the current fiscal year to cover the funding shortfall for wolf and elk depredation payments.

Position: Support as written.

To our members: The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has already depleted its funds for depredation payments in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. This bill would cover the funding shortfall and allow MDA to resume payments before July 1.

Action taken by MFBF: Provided written testimony in support of the legislation.

Status: Passed off the House floor 115-19 and sent to the Senate on 04/10/2025. Introduced in the Senate and referred to the Agriculture Committee on 02/20/2025.

 

HF 2563 (Vang)/SF 2865 (Hawj) – Omnibus Legacy appropriations.

Summary: Appropriates dollars from the arts and cultural heritage fund, the parks and trails fund, the outdoor heritage fund, and the clean water fund.

Position: Support specific provisions as written.

To our members: This bill includes arts and cultural heritage funds for FFA and county fairs, as well as clean water funds for the AgBMP loan program, the Agricultural Water Quality Certification program, technical assistance, conservations equipment grants, and expansion of the state weather station and soil temperature network.

Status: Passed the House Legacy Committee as amended and sent to the Ways and Means Committee on 04/09/2025. Passed the Senate Environment Committee as amended and sent to the Finance Committee on 03/27/2025.

 

SF 2077 (Hawj)/HF 2439 (Heintzeman) – Environment and natural resources omnibus finance and policy bill.

Summary: Sets the budget for the Pollution Control Agency, Department of Natural Resources, the Board of Soil and Water Resources, and contains various policy provisions related to environment and natural resources. Senate version amended to include a provision that returns to the Public Waters Inventory (PWI) as the standard for defining a public water, as opposed to the statutory definition.

Position: Support the Public Waters Inventory provision.

To our members: Farmers, landowners, and local governments deserve regulatory certainty and clarity with respect to public waters. Returning to the standard by which any public water must be reflected in the Public Waters Inventory would deliver this certainty and clarity, as opposed to the new statutory definition.

Status: Passed the Senate Environment Committee as amended and sent to the Finance Committee on 04/10/2025. Passed the House Environment Committee and sent to the Ways and Means Committee on 04/10/2025.

 

SF 2149 (McEwen)/HF 1671 (Pinto) – Omnibus labor and industry policy bill.

Summary: Contains a variety of provisions relating to labor laws. Senate version amended to include an Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) exemption for farm operations with five or less employees.

Position: Support the Earned Sick and Safe Time agricultural exemption.

To our members: An exemption for seasonal farm employees already exists. This new exemption would be particularly helpful for dairy and livestock operations, as animal care cannot be deferred. There has been confusion among employers regarding how to implement the ESST law. This exemption would provide relief to the agriculture sector, which already struggles with finding reliable, consistent labor.

Action taken by MFBF: Provided verbal testimony in support of the original bill creating the ESST exemption for farms with five or less employees.

Status: Passed the Senate Labor Committee as amended and sent to the Rules and Administration Committee on 04/10/2025. Passed the House Judiciary Committee and sent to the Workforce Committee on 04/02/2025.

 

SF 2458 (Putnam)/HF 2446 (Anderson, P. H.) – Omnibus agriculture finance and policy bill.

 

Summary: Sets the budget for the Department of Agriculture, the Board of Animal Health, and the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute. The Senate version of the bill decreases the overall agriculture budget by $313,000 in fiscal years 2026-27 but increases it by $2.9 million in fiscal years 2028-29. In line with MFBF’s priority issues, the Senate bill contains funding increases for the Board of Animal Health, the agricultural emergency account, wolf and elk depredation payments, Minnesota Agricultural Education and Leadership Council grants, and Farm Business Management grants, among other programs.

On the House side, the bill increases the overall agriculture budget by $17 million in fiscal years 2026-27 and maintains that increase in fiscal years 2028-29. Much like the Senate version, it contains funding increases for the Board of Animal Health, the agricultural emergency account, wolf and elk depredation payments, Minnesota Agricultural Education and Leadership Council grants, and Farm Business Management grants, among other programs.

Position: Support both versions of the bill as amended.

To our members: The agriculture budget comprises 0.25 percent of the entire state budget while accounting for a disproportionate amount of the state’s economic activity. With Minnesota’s tight fiscal situation, we will not balance the budget by drastically cutting agriculture programs. This budget bill recognizes and respects that.

Action taken by MFBF: Provided verbal testimony in support of the bill.

Status: Passed the Senate Finance Committee as amended on 04/10/2025 and sent to the Senate floor. Passed the House Agriculture Committee as amended on 04/09/2025 and sent to the Ways and Means Committee.

 

The MFBF public policy team and leadership are keeping track of everything that happens at the Capitol. Throughout the session, we will continue to provide updates and insight into our work on behalf of our members.