Legislation prohibiting the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) from enforcing permitting requirements for mowing and baling along state highway rights-of-way was heard in the Senate Transportation Finance and Policy Committee today. The bill, Senate File 1889, prohibits MnDOT from requiring, issuing, or enforcing permits until April 30, 2020.

“MnDOT’s permitting requirement disrupts farmers and landowners who have been mowing and baling – without problem – along state highway rights-of-way for decades,” said Senator Gary Dahms (R-Redwood Falls), the bill’s author. “This bill continues the moratorium on MnDOT’s enforcing of the permitting requirements so farmers and landowners, legislators, and the new governor’s administration can come together and find a permanent, bipartisan solution.”

The legislature passed similar moratoriums in 2017 and 2018 in response to a surprise policy shift from MnDOT, which began enforcing archaic permitting requirements for mowing and baling along state highway rights-of-way, prompting significant criticism from rural Minnesotans. Among other things, the agency’s policy requires farmers and landowners to apply for a state-issued permit before mowing and baling along highway rights-of-way.

The legislation was heard in the Senate Transportation Finance and Policy Committee, where it passed with bipartisan support.