Senate Democrats today passed an Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Environment and Climate supplemental budget. While the agriculture and energy portions of this legislation have bipartisan support, it is packaged with partisan commerce policies that add excessive burdens and fail to protect Minnesota consumers. The bill passed out of the Senate on a vote of 36-30.

ENERGY SECTION

The energy portion of the bill includes a few Republican amendments to increase energy reliability and affordability, but it doesn’t go far enough. It drains the Renewable Development Account (RDA) appropriating money to metro-centric projects, funding narrow interests, and approving working groups of questionable value.

A key Republican amendment lifting the nuclear moratorium for small modular nuclear facilities was adopted, bringing Minnesota a step closer to increasing energy reliability.

“Allowing for construction of small modular nuclear facilities will be a key part of the next generation of energy production in our state,” Senator Andrew Mathews (R-Princeton), Republican Lead of the Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate Committee, said. “Small advanced modular reactors are a growing trend in new energy designs, and I hope to see Minnesota take full advantage of this opportunity to produce clean, affordable energy.”

“Minnesotans want a reliable and affordable energy future, and this bill took an important step when our Republican amendment to partially repeal the nuclear moratorium was adopted with bipartisan support.” Sen. Mathews said. “There is still a lot more work to do to make energy more reliable and affordable after the Democrats passed egregious mandates last year, and I urge them to keep the bipartisan GOP amendments in the bill through conference committee. Our Republican energy plan is an ‘all of the above’ strategy to keep multiple forms of energy generation.”

Republicans offered the ‘A+ Energy Plan’ as an amendment to ensure that Minnesota is focused on keeping our energy system affordable and sustainable across the state. Nuclear and hydro energy are critical for our path toward a clean energy future while ensuring our grid remains stable and utilities are affordable for Minnesota families.

Additionally, Republicans supported providing protections for consumers as new smart meters are being adopted by utilities to enforce time-of-use rates which increase prices for customers at peak usage times, such as hot summer days or cold winter nights. The amendment will require utilities to receive written consent by consumers before a smart meter can be installed on their property.

AGRICULTURE SECTION

In the agriculture section of the bill, notable investments focus on improving soil health and providing support for water quality issues of private wells in Southeast Minnesota. The following appropriations will be available for Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Wabasha or Winona counties.

• $2 million to the Minnesota Department of Health to establish a program for testing, repairing, and replacing contaminated wells
• $750,000 for home water treatment, particularly reverse osmosis, for private wells with nitrate contaminant levels exceeding 10 mg/L
• $500,000 in fiscal year 2025 for the Soil Health Financial Assistance Program

“It’s unfortunate that this bipartisan legislation was packaged with highly controversial bills on unrelated subjects,” Senator Torrey Westrom (R-Alexandria), Republican lead of the Agriculture, Broadband, and Rural Development Committee, said. “If the agriculture section was brought forward as a standalone bill, I know it would have passed the Senate with flying colors. There is still a lot to celebrate this year for agriculture and our collaborative work to help address the drinking water concerns facing Southeast Minnesota.”

Additionally, the agriculture section invests in future agriculture jobs. A key Republican provision allocates $375,000 for grants to secondary career and technical education (CTE) programs in Minnesota high schools to offer instruction in meat cutting and butchery. Each grant recipient can receive up to $75,000, and this funding covers expenses like equipment, facility renovations and faculty training. Priority may be given to applicants collaborating with Minnesota State Colleges and Universities or local industry partners.

“Connecting Minnesota students to high-demand career pathways is critical. Programs such as CTE provide real-world experiences that set our students up for success, and this latest investment is a promising direction for the meat cutting and butchery industry,” Sen. Westrom added.

COMMERCE SECTION

Finally, the commerce section of this bill includes a number of controversial provisions that add excessive burdens for Minnesotans and fail to deliver on consumer safety and protection.

“The commerce section raises consumer costs, undermines cannabis awareness and safety efforts, and creates a burdensome copper sales license with no proof it will deter theft,” Senator Gary Dahms (R-Redwood Falls), Republican lead of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, said. “Last year, Democrats passed billions of dollars in new fees and taxes. I am very worried that this bill raises more fees that will ultimately be passed down to consumers.”

A concerning Democrat provision cuts the cannabis funding to educate youth and pregnant or breast-feeding women about the significant drug risks on child development. As Minnesota prepares for a massive increase in cannabis use and availability, this is the exact wrong direction. That is why Senate Republicans offered an important amendment to restore the cannabis education funding and protect the future health of children. It ultimately failed upon a party-line vote.

Additionally, the bill contains a Democrat provision to require an individual who is purchasing or selling copper to procure an annual license from the Department of Commerce, beginning Jan. 1, 2025. This is a convoluted attempt to curb the selling of illegally obtained copper wire in St. Paul and other communities across Minnesota. The licensure requirement will hit many Minnesotans who perform their own home and auto repairs, as well as industries such as scrap metal dealers, hardware stores, auto repair shops, and many other lines of legitimate business.

“Unfortunately, we are following the same trap as we did with the catalytic converters. Instead of looking at the people who are stealing, this legislation ensnares law-abiding citizens who are attempting to recoup their costs for something they already own. The copper sales licensure requirements are unlikely to impact the theft of copper, and instead will make it less likely that Minnesotans will go to the effort to recycle copper. This will inevitably put more copper in the waste stream instead of into the recycling stream, which will reduce supply and increase costs as demand goes up for new sources of copper,” Sen. Dahms shared.

Senate Republicans offered an amendment to remove the copper sales language entirely. Another proposal was brought forward to exclude homeowners or contractors that have a permit for new construction or renovation. Democrats refused to accept both amendments, but Republicans succeeded in adding language to require the Department of Public Safety to work with law enforcement on sharing information on cases involving metal theft.