February 8, 2021
Senate File 585 was introduced last week by Senator Gene Dornink (R—Austin).
The bill would maintain base level funding for the Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF) and the Job Creation Fund (JCF) and would establish base level funding for redevelopment grants and demolition loans. The Governor’s budget recommendations cut both MIF and JCF from their base level funding amounts and continued to leave redevelopment out altogether. Senate File 585 would restore the funding levels for MIF and JCF of $12.37 million and $8 million per year each and would establish new base funding for redevelopment at $8 million per year.
Currently the Redevelopment Account relies on transfers from MIF at the discretion of DEED. This transfer authority has allowed for some redevelopment funding to occur while not actually funding the program, but base funding is a much preferred outcome and one that EDAM is actively pushing this Session. The $8 million per year figure for redevelopment would allow for $1 million in funding out of the account for both the metro area and Greater Minnesota in each of the two grant cycles per year. We expect to see the House companion to this bill introduced this week.
Also of note was the introduction of the Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure Program bill in both House and Senate.
Senate File 291, introduced by Senator John Jasinski (R—Faribault), seeks $20 million in general obligation bonds for the program. Funding for this program was included in the 2020 bonding bill that passed during the 5th Special Session back in October of 2020 at $8.2 million.
Committees in both House and Senate will take action on legislation this week as lawmakers look to start moving significant bills well in advance of Committee deadlines in March.