GREATER MINNESOTA PARTNERSHIP LEGISLATIVE...
Transcript of GREATER MINNESOTA PARTNERSHIP LEGISLATIVE...
MEMORANDUM DATE: February 20, 2015 TO: MAYOR & COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM: DANNY LENZ, CITY MANAGER SUBJECT: CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
GREATER MINNESOTA PARTNERSHIP LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The State of Minnesota 2015 legislative session has gotten underway, and the first Greater
Minnesota Partnership (GMNP) bill has received a hearing. Bills HF 578 and 579 received a
hearing this past Tuesday in the Minnesota House. The bill would implement changes to the
Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure (BDPI) Grant Program, including
increased funding for the program and policy changes to give greater flexibility for cities and
broader eligibility of projects that would qualify. The Chief author for the House version of the
bills is Representative Mary Franson, and the Chief author for the Senate version of the bill is
Senator Vicki Jensen. A handout on the BDPI legislation, as well as the summary information on
GMNP 2015 Legislative Priorities, is attached.
ADDITIONAL ATTACHMENTS
• Updated 2015 February & March Calendars • CGMC In Brief – 2/12/15 • CGMC In Brief – 2/19/15 • Greater Minnesota Partnership’s Economic Advantage – 2/3/15
The Greater MN Business Development Public
Infrastructure (BDPI) Grant Program Providing the public infrastructure necessary for private investment.
Prepared by Flaherty and Hood, P.A. for the Coalition of Greater MN Cities, 1/16/2014
What is BDPI? The BPDI program provides grants to cities in
Greater Minnesota of up to 50% of the capital
costs of the public infrastructure necessary to
expand economic growth, retain or create jobs, or
increase the tax base (§ 116J.431).
Greater Minnesota cities depend on the grant
program to attract new businesses and create jobs
in their communities.
BDPI Quick Facts
166 Greater Minnesota cities have received BDPI
grants since FY 2003
1,625 jobs created and 6,146 jobs retained
More than $52 million awarded since 2003
The average grant to a Greater Minnesota city is
$279,881
This progra has a outstanding return
o i vest e t --DEED, State of Minnesota 2010
Preliminary Capital Budget Requests,
7/15/2009
O e of DEED’s best
programs --MMB Director Tom Hanson, press
co fere ce regardi g gover or’s Bonding Bill Requests
2015 BDPI Proposal
Appropriate $10 million in general obligation bonding
Appropriate $10 million in general fund dollars
Increase maximum grant amount from $1 million to $2 million
Require that projects receive at least 50% of state funding, unless otherwise specified by
applicant
Allow for funding of infrastructure projects so that communities have a supply of property
ready to serve industrial uses
Support the Greater Minnesota BDPI program
a d help grow Greater Mi esota’s eco o y
The Greater MN Business Development Public
Infrastructure (BDPI) Grant Program Providing the public infrastructure necessary for private investment.
Prepared by Flaherty and Hood, P.A. for the Coalition of Greater MN Cities, 1/16/2014
How did BDPI impact your community in 2014?
Detroit Lakes:
Awarded $92,100 to
pave a street that will
serve an 89,000 square
foot addition to a
business.
Elk River:
Awarded $290,997 for
infrastructure to
expand an industrial
park, resulting in the
creation of 45 jobs.
Preston:
Awarded total of
$487,000 to expand
infrastructure, creating
or retaining 18 jobs.
Wanamingo:
Awarded $250,000 to
provide infrastructure
for the expansion of an
industrial park,
creating 20 jobs.
La Prairie:
Awarded $175,000 to
help defray cost of
sewer services for
business expansion,
creating 12-16 jobs.
Virginia:
Awarded $200,000 to
provide for
infrastructure for
expansion, creating 10
jobs.
Harmony:
Awarded $250,000 to
install a municipal
water well to support
business expansion,
creating 14 jobs.
Pelican Rapids:
Awarded $145,390 to
improve infrastructure
serving a local
business, retaining
650 employees.
Staples:
Awarded $23,230 to
expand infrastructure
allowing for business
expansion and 5 new
jobs.
Blooming Prairie:
Awarded $215,829 to
provide infrastructure
to a local company,
resulting in the
creation of 10 jobs.
Owatonna:
Awarded $421,447 to
expand infrastructure
for business, resulting
in creation of 40 new
jobs.
The Greater MN Business Development Public
Infrastructure (BDPI) Grant Program Providing the public infrastructure necessary for private investment.
Prepared by Flaherty and Hood, P.A. for the Coalition of Greater MN Cities, 1/16/2014
Where has BDPI funded infrastructure for private business?
Ada 2003 $166,783
Albany 2005 $515,309
Albert Lea 2006 $250,000
Alexandria 2003 $300,000
Audubon 2003 $19,601
Austin 2003 $380,000
Bagley 2011 $204,134
Barnesville 2011 $134,013
Becker 2010 $250,000
Belgrade 2003 $136,913
Bemidji 2006 $350,000
Bemidji 2008 $250,000
Benson 2003 $347,066
Bigfork 2008 $190,223
Bigfork 2010 $250,000
Blackduck 2010 $71,825
Blooming Prairie 2010 $215,829
Bovey 2006 $192,000
Brainerd 2006 $375,000
Brewster 2003 $81,495
Brewster 2008 $250,000
Brooten 2010 $250,000
Browerville 2005 $175,000
Cambridge 2011 $224,884
Cannon Falls 2005 $250,000
Cannon Falls 2010 $15,000
Chatfield 2012 $90,753
Chisholm 2010 $300,000
Chokio 2010 $206,700
Cloquet 2003 $280,000
Cohasset 2005 $352,000
Cold Spring 2005 $392,752
Cold Spring 2006 $300,000
Coleraine 2006 $173,435
Cottonwood 2005 $140,769
Crookston 2010 $75,000
Delano 2011 $300,000
Delano 2012 $60,000
Detroit Lakes 2008 $250,000
Detroit Lakes 2014 $92,100
Duluth 2005 $500,000
Duluth 2005 $500,000
Duluth 2006 $250,000
Duluth 2008 $500,000
East Grand Forks 2008 $245,000
Edgerton 2006 $92,125
Elk River 2005 $360,080
Elk River 2010 $290,997
Elk River 2011 $250,000
Faribault 2003 $86,002
Faribault 2005 $278,425
Faribault 2011 $349,528
Fergus Falls 2006 $300,000
Fosston 2008 $250,000
Freeport 2006 $888,483
Gilbert 2011 $244,750
Grand Marais 2005 $499,137
Grand Rapids 2005 $272,075
Grand Rapids 2008 $250,000
Green Isle 2003 $67,036
Hallock 2006 $300,000
Hanover 2010 $250,000
Harmony 2003 $191,768
Harmony 2010 $250,000
Hartland 2008 $25,000
Hawley 2005 $122,500
Hawley 2008 $140,476
Hawley 2012 $500,000
Herman 2005 $143,900
Heron Lake 2005 $500,000
Hibbing 2006 $250,000
Hibbing 2010 $150,000
Hutchinson 2008 $250,000
Hutchinson 2010 $250,000
Isanti 2010 $11,000
Jackson 2005 $351,281
Jackson 2010 $153,286
La Crescent 2006 $1,400,000
La Prairie 2010 $237,500
La Prairie 2015 $175,000
Lake Crystal 2003 $500,000
Lake Crystal 2006 $257,548
Lakefield 2008 $198,000
Le Sueur 2003 $358,127
Le Sueur 2006 $250,000
Litchfield 2005 $261,900
Litchfield 2010 $107,151
Little Falls 2005 $500,000
The Greater MN Business Development Public
Infrastructure (BDPI) Grant Program Providing the public infrastructure necessary for private investment.
Prepared by Flaherty and Hood, P.A. for the Coalition of Greater MN Cities, 1/16/2014
Long Prairie 2005 $500,000
Long Prairie 2010 $240,000
Luverne 2003 $500,000
Luverne 2011 $150,000
Lyle 2012 $98,490
Mankato 2003 $21,313
Mankato 2005 $500,000
Mankato 2005 $142,590
Mankato 2006 $478,687
Mankato 2010 $249,666
Mazeppa 2008 $248,248
Melrose 2003 $400,000
Milaca 2003 $68,310
Montrose 2008 $427,390
Moorhead 2003 $500,000
Moorhead 2012 $250,000
Mora 2006 $56,995
Morris 2010 $500,000
Motley 2010 $250,000
Mountain Iron 2010 $250,000
New Prague 2010 $313,005
New Ulm 2008 $200,681
North Branch 2003 $387,787
North Branch 2005 $304,222
North Mankato 2008 $250,000
Olivia 2003 $164,405
Osakis 2006 $383,140
Owatonna 2014 $421,447
Palisade 2011 $120,000
Pelican Rapids 2014 $145,390
Perham 2003 $122,725
Perham 2006 $250,000
Perham 2010 $500,000
Pine City 2003 $53,477
Pine River 2005 $164,049
Pipestone 2005 $499,907
Preston 2012 $137,000
Preston 2012 $350,000
Red Wing 2010 $106,086
Redwood Falls 2005 $250,000
Richmond 2008 $121,799
Rockville 2005 $152,734
Roseau 2003 $378,000
Roseau 2008 $300,000
Saint Charles 2010 $500,000
Saint Cloud 2005 $286,710
Saint Cloud 2010 $500,000
Saint James 2003 $209,600
Saint James 2008 $207,108
Silver Bay 2003 $261,354
Springfield 2005 $486,239
Staples 2010 $23,230
Stewartville 2011 $337,688
Thief River Falls 2006 $236,039
Thief River Falls 2008 $200,000
Thief River Falls 2011 $250,000
Tower 2006 $249,980
Truman 2003 $223,358
Virginia 2006 $300,000
Virginia 2010 $200,000
Virginia 2010 $300,000
Virginia 2015 $200,000
Wadena 2011 $350,000
Wanamingo 2003 $222,375
Wanamingo 2014 $250,000
Warren 2010 $150,000
Wells 2005 $41,072
Wells 2012 $148,000
Windom 2011 $549,540
Winona 2005 $490,000
Winona 2006 $300,000
Winona 2008 $337,500
Winona 2010 $94,881
Winthrop 2008 $500,000
Worthington 2010 $500,000
Wyoming 2003 $1,000,000
Wyoming 2006 $481,435
Zumbrota 2010 $750,000
Total Appropriation:
Fiscal Year Amount Appropriated
2003 $7,500,000
2004
2005 $10,000,000
2006 $6,100,000
2007
2008 $7,000,000
2009
2010 $8,515,000
2011 $4,000,000
2012 $6,000,000
2013
2014 $6,200,000
Greater Minnesota Partnership 2015 Legislative Priorities
Bill * House Senate 1. Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure Grant Program Funding • General fund & bonding • $20 million request • Needed policy updates
HF 578 and 579 Chief author – Rep. Mary Franson
Hearing Scheduled on 2-17-15
SF 386 and XXX Chief author – Rep. Vicki Jensen
2. Job Training • Tax credit or Grant • $15 million request • Fast-Flexible-Employer Friendly
HF 750 and 751 Chief author – Rep. Deb Kiel
SF 525 and 526 Chief author – Sen. David Tomassoni
3. Workforce Housing • Tax credit and Grant • $100 million request • Establish Workforce Housing Office
HF 749 Chief author – Rep. Rod Hamilton
SF 764 Chief author – Sen. Dan Sparks
4. Broadband Funding • $100 million request • No policy changes
HF 556 Chief author – Rep. Sheldon Johnson
SF 439 Chief author – Sen. Matt Schmidt
5. Transportation • Corridors of Commerce • $200 million split between metro and non-metro
HF XX Chief author –
SF XX Chief author –
6. Environmental Regulatory Reform • Cost/benefit analysis – funding • Scientific peer review required
HF 616 and 617 Chief author – Rep. Dan Fabian
SF 689 and 690 Chief author – Rep. Kent Eken
The Greater Minnesota Partnership d eveloped the legislation and worked hard to get strong bi -partisan author s of and support for these bills. For more information
on the se bills, please contact GMNP Executive Director Dan Dorman at [email protected] or 612-245-5204.
Chart dated Feb. 12, 2015. Legislation on job training and transportation will be introduced and receive
bill numbers soon.
CGMC in Brief - Feb. 12, 2015 View this email in your browser
Newsletter for the Week of February 12, 2015
CGMC environmental bills call for good science, cost analysis Within the last week, Sen. Kent Eken (DFL-Twin Valley) and Rep. Dan Fabian (R-
Roseau) introduced the two CGMC environmental bills. The CGMC sent out a
press release Monday to announce the bills and thank the legislators for their work.
The first bill, SF 689 and HF 616, is aimed at getting a better understanding of the
impact recently adopted and soon-to-be adopted water regulations and rules will
have on our communities across the state. It would require a financial analysis of
the impact of water quality rules adopted last summer or anticipated to be adopted
within the next five years on 15 representative communities from across the state.
With the state currently adopting and amending water quality regulations at an
upgraded pace, we need to understand the financial burden they are placing on
our communities. The bill would also require legislative approval of certain high-
cost regulations.
The second bill, SF 690 and HF 617, seeks to bring good science into water quality
standards by requiring that when a water quality standard will have a statewide
impact of $50 million or more, the underlying science will go through an
independent peer review. The proposal is modeled after the Environmental
Protection Agency’s Peer Review Guidance and simply seeks to require that
Minnesota be held to the same standard.
If you have any questions regarding the bills, please contact Elizabeth Wefel at
Townships seek to drastically limit orderly annexation The townships introduced a bill this week that limits a city's ability to annex
property. SF 680 (Sen. Lyle Koenen, DFL-Clara City) would forbid a city from
seeking to annex any property that is subject to an orderly annexation agreement
with another city. Although it may seem innocuous on its face, in practice this
would create expensive and burdensome situations for many cities. A township
could create a bidding war between two cities. It could sign an orderly annexation
agreement with one city that has no intention of ever using it to block a much
closer city from exercising annexation.
The CGMC will actively work against this bill in order to protect a city's ability to do
common-sense annexation. The bill currently does not have a companion in the
House. If you have any questions regarding annexation legislation, please contact
Elizabeth Wefel at [email protected].
CGMC LGA bill introduced in House The CGMC's bill to bring Local Government Aid funding back to its 2002 level was
introduced in the House on Monday. HF 685 (Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck)
would increase LGA funding by $45.5 million ($22.75 in 2016 and $22.75 again in
2017). The bill's Senate companion, authored by Sen. Koenen, will be introduced
next week. If you have any questions, please contact Bradley Peterson at
Legislation provides incentives to build much -needed workforce housing in Greater Minnesota Legislation introduced today in the Senate and House seeks to address the
shortage of workforce housing that affects many Greater Minnesota communities.
SF 764 (Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin) and HF 749 (Rep. Rod Hamilton, R-
Mountain Lake) would provide tax credits and grants to encourage developers and
investors to build workforce housing in Greater Minnesota. The CGMC's sister
organization, the Greater Minnesota Partnership, helped to develop the legislation.
For more information, read this GMNP press release.
Legislators propose restrictions on parks & trails funding Sen. Koenen also proposed two bills that, if passed, could make it nearly
impossible to use Legacy Funds to purchase property for parks and trails. The first
bill, SF 574 and HF 619 (authored by Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg) would prohibit a
community from even applying for a legacy grant to purchase property for a park or
trail unless every city or township where it is located signs off on it. It would not
matter if the landowner wants to sell the property; township board approval would
still be needed.
The second bill, SF 575 (which does not have a House companion), would prohibit
a community from applying for a legacy grant unless it has secured written
approval from 80 percent of the adults living near a park or trail and 80 percent of
adjacent property owners. This onerous requirement disregards the rights of the
person who is interested in selling the land.
In addition, Rep. Nels Pierson (R-Rochester) has introduced the House
companion, HF 698, to Senate bill SF 122 (which was defeated last week) which
would prohibit cities from using legacy money to purchase property obtained
through eminent domain.
The CGMC may weigh in on these bills. The Greater Minnesota Parks & Trails
(GMPT) organization is taking an active role in opposing these bills. To learn how
to get more involved with GMPT and to receive timely legislative updates and
action alerts on these and related bills, contact Elizabeth Wefel at
CGMC Fall Conference returning to Alexandria The CGMC's 2015 Fall Conference will return to the Arrowwood Resort &
Conference Center in Alexandria. The two-day conference will be held Thursday,
Nov. 12-Friday, Nov. 13. Please mark your calendars!
Save the date!
Please mark your calendar for upcoming CGMC events and important dates:
• CGMC Summer Conference: July 22-24, 2015, Duluth
• CGMC Fall Conference: Nov. 12-13, 2015, Alexandria
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YouTube
Copyright © 2015 Flaherty & Hood, P.A., All rights reserved.
Visit us online at greatermncities.org
Our mailing add ress is:
Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities
525 Park St., Suite 470
St. Paul, MN 55103
Contact: Bradley Peterson at [email protected] or 651-259-1940
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CGMC in Brief - Feb. 19, 2015 View this email in your browser
Newsletter for the Week of February 19, 2015
LGA getting attention; weigh in with your support! House and Senate versions of the local government aid (LGA) bill have now been
introduced. We are fortunate to have strong lead authors and good slate of bi-
partisan authors on both bills. Rep. Paul Anderson (R-Starbuck) is our champion
for HF 685 in the House, while Sen. Lyle Koenen (DFL-Clara City) is carrying SF
874 in the Senate. The legislation increases the LGA appropriation by $45.5 million
over two years to get the program back to its 2002 funding level.
The legislation is already getting positive attention, including this editorial from the
Duluth New Tribune. The editorial uses quotes from CGMC President Heidi
Omerza from this CGMC press release and notes the bi-partisan support for our
bills.
As the legislation advances, cities can help by passing a resolution in support of
LGA. A draft sample resolution can be found here. Please feel free to tailor it to
your city’s unique circumstances.
If you have any questions about our efforts on LGA or property taxes in general,
please contact Bradley Peterson at [email protected].
CGMC, GMNP economic development proposals among rural senators’ top priorities The momentum is continuing to build at the Legislature on issues that affect
economic development in Greater Minnesota! A group of rural senators held a
press conference Wednesday to announce their top economic development
initiatives, and we were pleased to see that several of the CGMC and Greater
Minnesota Partnership proposals were highlighted, including bills we helped
develop on workforce housing, job training and the Greater Minnesota Business
Development Public Infrastructure (BDPI) Grant Program. You can read more
about the Senate's Greater Minnesota proposals here.
In response to the rural senators’ announcement, CGMC President Omerza issued
this statement expressing excitement about the focus on Greater Minnesota
economic development issues and her hope that the House will join the Senate in
support of these initiatives.
CGMC members sought to testify at legislative hearings The action at the Legislature is starting to heat up. Several CGMC bills are
currently scheduled for hearings and it would be helpful to have city officials or staff
members testify in support of them. The upcoming hearings on CGMC bills are:
• Workforce Housing - SF 764, authored by Sen. Dan Sparks (DFL-Austin),
is scheduled for a hearing at 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23 in the Jobs,
Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. The House companion, HF
749, authored by Rep. Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake), is scheduled for a
hearing at 12:45 p.m. Thursday, March 5 in the Greater Minnesota
Economic and Workforce Development Policy Committee. If interested in
testifying, please contact Dan Dorman at [email protected]. More information
on the workforce housing proposal can be found here.
• Environment – HF 616 (cost-benefit analysis) and HF 617 (independent
scientific peer review), both authored by Rep. Dan Fabian (R-Roseau), is
tentatively scheduled for a hearing at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 in the
House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee. If
interested in testifying, please contact Elizabeth Wefel at eawefel@flaherty-
hood.com. More information on the CGMC environmental bills can be found
here.
• Job Trainin g – HF 750 and HF 751, authored by Rep. Deb Kiel (R-
Crookston), will be heard at 12:45 p.m. Thursday, March 5 in the House
Greater Minnesota Economic and Workforce Development Policy Committee.
If interested in testifying, please contact Marty Seifert at mjseifert@flaherty-
hood.com. More information on the job training proposals can be found here.
• Transportation – The Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee
is holding two informational hearings outside of St. Paul to provide
committee members with an opportunity to hear from the public about the
transportation needs in Greater Minnesota. The hearings will be at 11:30
a.m. Friday, Feb. 20 at St. Cloud City Hall and 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb.
27 at the Freeborn County Government Center in Albert Lea. If interested in
testifying, please contact Carolyn Jackson at [email protected].
BDPI legislation passes first hurdle in the House HF 578 and HF 579, authored by Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria), passed its
first House committee hearing on Tuesday. The legislation provides $20 million in
funding and makes beneficial changes to the BDPI program, which helps cities
provide public infrastructure for private business growth. Here is a press release
regarding the BDPI legislation and Tuesday’s hearing.
We’d like to thank CGMC President Heidi Omerza, GMNP Executive Director Dan
Dorman and Staples Community Development Director Jerel Nelsen for testifying
in support of the legislation before the Greater Minnesota Economic and Workforce
Development Policy Committee. The House bill will now move on to the Job Growth
and Energy Affordability Policy and Finance Committee.
The Senate companion bills, SF 763 and SF 386 (authored by Sen. Vicki Jensen,
DFL-Owatonna) have not yet been scheduled for a hearing. However, the BDPI
program was among the priorities cited by rural senators at their press conference
on Wednesday.
Governor highlights projects in transportation proposal Governor Dayton and MnDOT Commissioner Charlie Zelle held a press
conference to highlight projects statewide that would receive new funding under
the Governor’s transportation proposal. This press release includes a list of projects
by county, funding under the constitutional formula by community, and maps. It also
provides greater detail on what the Governor intends to fund, and highways in
Greater Minnesota do quite well. The proposal does not, however, provide any
new transportation funding for cities outside the constitutional formula or new
transportation funding for cities under 5,000.
Gov. Dayton and Commissioner Zelle traveled to Mankato on Wednesday to share
their plan as it would impact Highway 14 and southern Minnesota. They referenced
how much each county and MSA city would get under the 10-year proposal.
One of the blogs at the St. Paul Pioneer Press published a series of maps showing
where roads of different types are in Minnesota.
Join us March 4 to lobby in support of CGMC priorities The bills on CGMC initiatives are off to a good start, but now it is time for our
members to make more noise at the Capitol! We’d like to invite elected officials
and staff members from all of our member cities to join us in lobbying for Greater
Minnesota priorities on Tuesday, March 4. Participants will assemble at the office
of Flaherty & Hood (525 Park St., Suite 470, St. Paul) at noon for a brief meeting
and legislative update before heading over to the Capitol to lobby their legislators.
A brief CGMC Board of Directors meeting will also be held at 11 a.m. that day.
Board members may attend in person or via conference call (call-in instructions will
be provided closer to the meeting date).
The League of Minnesota Cities Joint Legislative Conference for cities, townships,
schools and counties begins on the evening of March 4. Since many CGMC
members will be in St. Paul for that event, we figured it would be a great
opportunity to do some lobbying earlier in the day before the LMC conference
begins.
If you would like to join us for the CGMC lobby day on March 4, please RSVP to
Kasey Gerkovich at [email protected]. Participation is free, but we
request that you RSVP so that we can be sure to print enough lobbying materials.
Save the date!
Please mark your calendar for upcoming CGMC events and important dates:
• Board of Directors Meeting: 11 a.m., March 4, office of Flaherty &
Hood (525 Park St., Suite 470, St. Paul) or via conference call
• Lobby Day: 12 p.m., March 4, St. Paul (meet at Flaherty & Hood
office)
• CGMC Summer Conference : July 22-24, 2015, Duluth
• CGMC Fall Conference: Nov. 12-13, 2015, Arrowwood Resort,
Alexandria
Website
YouTube
Copyright © 2015 Flaherty & Hood, P.A., All rights reserved.
Visit us online at greatermncities.org
Our mailing add ress is:
Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities
525 Park St., Suite 470
St. Paul, MN 55103
Contact: Bradley Peterson at [email protected] or 651-259-1940
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Greater Minnesota Partnership's Economic Advantage View this email in your browser
New sletter for the w eek of Feb. 18 , 2015
GMNP proposals among leading rural senators’ top
priorit ies The momentum is continuing to build at the Legislature on issues that affect
economic development in Greater Minnesota! A group of Senators from across
Greater Minnesota held a press conference today to announce their top economic
development initiatives, and we were pleased to see that several GMNP proposals
were highlighted, including bills we support regarding workforce housing, job
training, the Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure (BDPI)
Grant Program and broadband. You can read more about the Senate's Greater
Minnesota proposals here.
We look forward to continuing to work with legislators in both the House and
Senate, as well as the Governor’s office, to pass legislation on these important
issues this session.
BDPI legisla t ion passes f irst hurdle in the House
HF 578 and HF 579, authored by Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria), passed its
first House committee hearing on Tuesday. The legislation provides $20 million in
funding and makes beneficial changes to the BDPI program, which helps cities
provide public infrastructure for private business growth.
GMNP Executive Director Dan Dorman, Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities and
Ely City Council member Heidi Omerza and Staples Community Development
Director Jerel Nelsen testified in support of the legislation before the Greater
Minnesota Economic and Workforce Development Policy Committee. The response
from the committee was generally positive, but an urban legislator voiced concern
about protecting the state’s investment in the BDPI program and issues with
requiring DEED to fund 50 percent of the cost of a project. The GMNP believes
projects in Greater Minnesota should be funded at 50 percent, much like metro
projects that have received earmarks in the bonding bill.
The House bill will now move on to the Job Growth and Energy Affordability Policy
and Finance Committee. The Senate companion bills, SF 763 and SF 386 (authored
by Sen. Vicki Jensen , DFL-Owatonna) have not yet been scheduled for a hearing.
However, the BDPI program was among the priorities cited by leading rural
senators at the Senate Rural Task Force’s press conference earlier today.
Here is a press release from the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities regarding the
BDPI legislation.
W orkforce housing bill in t roduced
The GMNP’s workforce housing bill was introduced in the House and Senate last
week. SF 764, authored by Sen. Dan Sparks , DFL-Austin) and its House
companion, HF 749, authored by Rep. Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake), would
provide tax credits and grants to encourage investors and developers to build
workforce housing in Greater Minnesota. More information on the legislation, which
the GMNP helped develop, is provided in this press release.
The Senate bill is scheduled for its first hearing at 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 23 in
the Jobs, Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, which is chaired by Sen.
Sparks. The House bill is scheduled for its first hearing at 12:45 p.m. on March 5 in
the Greater Minnesota Economic and Workforce Development Policy Committee.
The GMNP is looking for people who are willing to come to the Capitol to testify in
favor of the bills. It would be particularly helpful to hear from the business
community. If you would like to testify, or if you think there is someone else we
should contact about testifying, please contact Dan Dorman at [email protected].
Job t ra ining bills scheduled for hear ing in Senate
Like the workforce housing bill, the GMNP’s job training bills are also scheduled to
receive their first hearing before the Senate Jobs, Agriculture and Rural Development
Committee on Monday, Feb. 23. SF 525 and SF 526, both authored by Sen. David
Tomassoni , DFL-Chisholm, advocate for the creation of a fast, flexible, employer-
driven job training program.
If you would like to testify in support of the bill at Monday’s hearing, or if you would
like us to contact someone else who you think would be a good testifier, please
contact Dan Dorman at [email protected].
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The Greater Minnesota Partnership brings together b usinesses, economic
development organizations, local governments and no n-profits to promote
and advocate for economic prosperity in Greater Min nesota.
Copyright © 2015 Flaherty & Hood, P.A., All rights reserved.
Questions? Contact:
Executive Director Dan Dorman
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 612-245-5204
Our mailing address is:
Greater Minnesota Partnership
Flaherty & Hood, P.A.
525 Park St., Suite 470
St. Paul, MN 55103
Visit us online at gmnp.org.