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Minnesota Legislature will convene March 1 Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Agri News staff writer
Sen. Dennis Frederickson says it's important that farmers and rural residents follow the debate on the Clean Water Legacy bill.
Frederickson, R-New Ulm, is the chief author of the Senate bill, which passed unanimously in the Senate without funding.
The funding question remains to be decided this session, Frederickson said, but it seems legislators are leaning toward a general fund solution. The consensus seems to be that everybody has contributed to the problem and all should share in the burden of cleaning up, he said.
Rep. Ruth Johnson, DFL-St. Peter, is hopeful $40 million can be found to fund the Clean Water Legacy bill. The money will help communities of all sizes and is critical for continuing economic development, she said.
Frederickson fears that representatives from larger cities may try to direct funding away from rural areas.
"It is vitally important that farmers and owners of rural property follow this bill and make certain that the funding gets equitably allocated," Frederickson said.
Other water issues will likely rise to the top. A study is due any day from a task force on how to encourage landowners to put buffers along drainage ditches. Buffers are important for erosion control and because ditches with buffers require less cleaning and maintenance. They also provide wildlife habitat, said Rep. Al Juhnke, DFL-Willmar.
Funding for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is included in the bonding bill and has bipartisan support.
Sen. Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook, said money may also be available for flood damage reduction. He's concerned that CREP signup is proceeding slowly, which he says is a problem of administrators seeking to fill permanent acreage caps before filling temporary acreage categories. He hopes to visit with people to see what can be done to speed CREP signup.
Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, said he'll seek money for the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System.
Another bonding issue to be discussed is a $1.5 million proposal for a biosecurity laboratory in the new Department of Agriculture building, Juhnke said. The money will furnish two workstations for avian bird flu testing.
Other oft-mentioned issues:
Eminent domain
Eminent domain will likely be addressed, Frederickson said. People understand giving up land for a public purpose, but they don't want to give up land to benefit another private individual.
Property tax reform
It's a perennial issue at the Legislature, Frederickson said.
Renewable fuels
Davids wants to have a National Center for BioFuels Research at the University of Minnesota . There's a hearing set for 2:30 p.m. March 14 on the issue.
Davids is also authoring a bill encouraging the construction of an ethanol plant that burns 75 percent biomass to power operations. The plant would qualify for a tax credit.
Bovine tuberculosis
Skoe says it's incumbent upon the state to fund all or a large part of the testing for bovine TB. He hopes to use dairy diagnostic teams as a model to set up teams to work with beef producers. This is going to go on for a while and will require a significant time and money investment, he said.
Fertilizer Task Force
A report will go to the Legislature seeking more dollars for research for agricultural soil fertility, Juhnke said. The proposed checkoff fee on fertilizer will cost farmers money, but hopefully it will provide a long-term benefit.
Road funding
There needs to be a good discussion on how the state is going to fund road construction, Skoe said. He supports a modest increase in the gas tax to fund road and bridge construction.
Health care
Minnesota has to address the cost of health care and resulting health insurance premiums, Skoe said. He suggests streamlining the billing process. Health care officials have told him that 27 to 28 people out of every 100 employed by a health care system work in billing. He plans to talk about health care during a series of town meetings the first two weekends in March.
Fiscal management
Sen. Steve Dille, R-Dassel, is concerned about state budget fiscal management. He's troubled by the amount of debt the federal government is getting into and he doesn't want to see a similar situation in Minnesota. Dedicated funds, such as the constitutional amendments proposed that dedicate a portion of the sales tax to the environment, make it harder to manage the budget in times of fiscal crisis.
Livestock
Dille has had several requests for his booklet, "Minnesota Needs More Livestock." He figures more than 3,000 copies are in print. Copies of the report are available at no cost by requesting a copy from Dille at (651) 296-4131 or sen.steve.dille@senate.mn |
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