March 22, 2022
On Monday, EDAM’s top priority – supplemental funding for the Redevelopment Grant Program in 2023 (S.F.585) – was heard in the Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Finance and Policy Committee. Testifiers included EDAM members Tom Shaver of Inland Development Partners, Jeff Jones from the City of Pipestone, Eric Van Oss from the City of Rosemont, and Sam Richie from EDAM. They presented a compelling argument with the only question being more of a comment and came from the Chair, pointing out the program’s strong return on the investment. Thank you to the testifiers, we are one step closer to passing this funding into law!
Both the Senate and House Files (S.F. 585 and H.F. 819, respectively) have been held over for possible inclusion in each chambers’ omnibus bill. Both Chairs will consider including the supplemental Redevelopment funding as one part of their final large bill packages toward the end of the session and EDAM will continue to push for this funding every step of the way.
Having the Redevelopment bill move forward in the Republican-controlled Senate and the DFL-controlled House is no small feat, and it speaks to the strength of EDAM’s proposal and reputation. This bipartisan bill movement comes into sharp contrast with the broader environment at the legislature, which is highly partisan right now. Top leaders continue to disagree about how to move forward with the unemployment insurance tax (see last week’s update for more details). There was little movement in negotiations over the weekend, which may signal how the parties approach the end of the session.