[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6546896,"mediaKeyId","3376086-a7c3356eee0a36d829a76da3544dbb9c","parentId",3376086,"title","Senate adopts conference report on agriculture budget, preserves food-access and cottage-food changes","audioSeconds",1275,"startMs",702000,"endMs",1977000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3376086-a7c3356eee0a36d829a76da3544dbb9c&start=702&end=1977","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3376086-a7c3356eee0a36d829a76da3544dbb9c/thumbnail_702000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6546896/Minnesota/Senate-adopts-conference-report-on-agriculture-budget-preserves-food-access-and-cottage-food-changes","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6546896-520368027228f36b252d53b6adcf737c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770433614&Signature=EdhJauGrv087RXzljg0O9j-5NQwW-XR05Ai4L9ERO7TTecV6cua3syiZ2TALJ8GnpJWZ7sdn6-qPuU4j9MlU~pYU3Z4s1ehJ4HWMeEjqGT5jaLKpoQwc0o49za87THaX~W6w8VHl51ci9v-WEuJTxtOa-dacYyCncUs8yVwkEPyBQt0augwrhRAU0aOVnRtq5Y6Y6faTHoQXbSFUNtHLamfafiymbsm-8trRrJea-J8cC5mpfVc3JLU7W9vo0EU4T6ynlt9HL4LHV3DqroOt7ScKRUHFuY5bCGySwAoAK5MFHiisdz0eIHd8u7ufWReBMbhvVJN5sKW4MUs7uBmfUw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Minnesota Legislature","date","2025-05-18T21:21:15Z","article","The Minnesota Senate on a voice vote and subsequent roll call adopted the conference committee report on House File 2446, the state government appropriation bill for agriculture, sending the measure back as repassed by a 58–8 roll call vote.

Senator John Putnam, the Senate author who moved adoption, said the bill balances support for farmers with expanded food-access programs. \"This bill was written on Minnesota's farms to help farmers feed all Minnesotans,\" Putnam said on the floor, urging senators to \"vote green.\" The conference report was the product of negotiations that raised the Senate target from an initial negative figure to a positive conference target, Putnam said.

The measure funds the Department of Agriculture, the Board of Animal Health, the Agricultural Utilziation Research Institute and the Office of Broadband Development and contains both appropriations and policy changes. Supporters highlighted increases to the ag emergency account and to compensation for wolf and elk depredation, expanded farm business management support, rural mental health and farm-safety funding, and new or expanded food-access programs including funding for farm-to-school and meat-processing grants.

Senator Westrom, speaking in favor of the bill, called the agriculture budget \"the basic bill of feeding the state,\" citing research and inspection functions and specifically endorsing the cottage-food provisions that will broaden opportunities for home-based food businesses. Senator Liske (recorded in the debate as discussing cottage foods) described a change from a previous dual-fee system to a single-tiered registration fee and said the registration fee for the lowest tier will be $30, down from a prior $50 fee for some producers. Senator May Quaid described a state response to a federal reduction in local food purchasing assistance, noting that, after an $18,000,000 federal cut, \"in this bill, we find a response to that and we create a state version of that.\" Putnam and others also described a new state Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LPA) program intended to fill a gap left by the federal program.

The conference committee report also includes fee adjustments. Putnam said the Senate reduced projected growth in certain grain-related fees by drawing interest from the Grain Indemnity Fund and adopted an amendment to cap future fee growth. Debate included acknowledgment from several senators that fee increases remained a point of concern for licensees and small businesses.

The bill advanced through the third reading after adoption of the conference report; the secretary read the bill title on the floor and the roll call showed 58 ayes and 8 nays.

Votes at a glance
House File 2446 (Department of Agriculture budget) — Motion to adopt conference committee report: Moved by Senator John Putnam; outcome: adopted; roll call: 58 yes, 8 no.

What changed and why it matters
Supporters framed the bill as a combined set of farmer supports and food-access measures: increases to depredation compensation and emergency accounts, expansion of farm-down-payment assistance and business-management funding, and new or boosted food programs (farm-to-school, early-care grants, meat-inspection and processing grants, and a state-level LPA). The cottage-food protocol was described as a policy change intended to simplify registration and expand market opportunities for small and home-based producers. Supporters said the conference process moderated a steeper fee increase for grain elevators and capped future growth.

Concerns and clarifications
Several senators noted concern about fee increases for elevators and food handling licenses and asked for continued monitoring; Putnam and conferees said some increases were moderated in conference. Senator Green asked whether depredation accounts overall increased; Putnam answered that the apparent cuts were \"carve outs\" and that the overall appropriation increased and included flexibility for the MDA to reallocate to respond to spikes in need.

What the bill does not do
The conference report made changes to fee structure and program funding; it does not itself change federal programs. Where speakers referenced federal cuts or programs (for example, the federal local food purchasing assistance program), the bill creates a state-level substitute as described by sponsors.

Next steps
The bill was repassed by the Senate as amended by the conference committee and was transmitted following the adopted conference report.
","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Floor Session - Part 2 - 05/18/25","oneSentenceSummary","The Minnesota Senate on a roll call adopted the conference committee report on House File 2446, the state government appropriation bill for agriculture, preserving a mix of farmer supports and new or expanded food‑access programs that backfill a federal cut and adjust several licensing fees.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MN, Minnesota","taxId",77817,"location","Minnesota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6546886,"Senate approves Legacy appropriations conference report amid disputes over land purchases, priority projects and festival funding",3104,6690000,9794000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3376086-a7c3356eee0a36d829a76da3544dbb9c&start=6690&end=9794","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3376086-a7c3356eee0a36d829a76da3544dbb9c/thumbnail_6690000.jpg","/articles/6546886/Minnesota/Senate-approves-Legacy-appropriations-conference-report-amid-disputes-over-land-purchases-priority-projects-and-festival-funding","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6546886-0b1dbeda764f05163b9dd7eabc87423e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770433614&Signature=QYancmQAMdJ6UjNxxiBWbnqJ37-lNoh1myflzDirQde-gBiWmHouWdbeAz5lEnY~90th9oA87BBsB47rqo9KVvbrQqo4r0e2~W4YUMOtyHqTdC1WNE5ZaS0Gpp9iIiLvrFNvKSkOgfuFefkCr20G-mmK5emI8jssfH144CsxQBowDGjVxONmeK8zs7-ImCkACpBN4q9VZlUohIseCP7YLijnnDjDPcsD6kROYdN3D0NDVVu9u73L~LKPWawxWOSmUzB1dBQbUzblnKFOilpBa7zT82ODR7mOxSt4-jwrj5G94tqafdbmVKvPXw58IzwFKXgJD-FK-Mm3TnmDTi2V5A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Minnesota Senate adopted the conference committee report on House File 2563, the omnibus Legacy appropriations bill covering the Outdoor Heritage, Clean Water, Parks and Trails, and Arts and Cultural Heritage funds, by a recorded vote of 37 ayes to 30 nays.

Senator Andrew Hurd, who presented the conference report, described a negotiated package that included major senate priorities such as museum and zoo funding, cultural grants and wilderness inquiries. \"The conference committee was agreed upon with the house, and a majority of the provision that we left here are included,\" Hurd said during floor explanation.

Floor debate ranged from technical concerns about how priority projects were identified and capped to broader questions about the program's scale and public benefit. Senator Green criticized the bill's scale and cited dozens of line items he said amounted to nearly $750 million in that cycle or closer to $900 million over multiple funds and biennia, and raised questions about land acquisitions and the fiscal impact on local governments when land becomes exempt from property taxation.

Speakers also focused on land‑related issues. Senator Green said the bill includes large outright land purchases (he cited roughly 13,000 acres purchased in a recent biennium and said about 4,000 acres in the current bill are being acquired without payment‑in‑lieu‑of‑taxes or PILT), and easements on over 11,000 acres. Concerns were raised that converting privately taxed land to non‑taxable public holdings can reduce local tax bases and shift costs to other taxpayers unless PILT or other mitigation is provided.

Process and transparency were recurring themes. Multiple senators, including Senator Pratt and Senator Wiesenberg, said they or their conferees did not have broad opportunity to review conference changes and that the conference committee met only briefly to accept a completed agreement. Pratt said the conference committee \"did not meet to go through the differences\" and that the chairs negotiated the final package without full conferee input; other senators urged colleagues to read the project books that accompany the legacy bill.

Funding priorities and competitive grants also drew discussion. Some arts and cultural line items were assigned \"priority\" status that senators said could functionally direct agencies toward particular named projects, and festival or event grants (including the Taste of Minnesota) were discussed as competitive with caps — Hurd said some named priorities will be capped at $200,000; earlier Senate positions for larger direct appropriations were reduced in negotiation.

Despite objections, the conference report passed; supporters cited the bill's breadth across water, outdoors and cultural priorities and the fact that Legacy funds are lottery‑supported, not general‑fund appropriations.

Votes at a glance
House File 2563 (Legacy funds appropriations for Outdoor Heritage, Clean Water, Parks & Trails, Arts & Cultural Heritage) — Motion to adopt conference committee report: Moved by Senator Andrew Hurd; outcome: adopted; roll‑call vote: 37 yes, 30 no.

What changed and why it matters
The conference report funds conservation easements and land purchases, water assessments and restoration projects, park and trail grants, and a set of arts and cultural grants and named priority projects. Debate focused on how projects are prioritized and whether the public interest and local fiscal impacts — particularly property tax erosion where land becomes publicly owned — are sufficiently protected.

Concerns and clarifications
Senators raised concerns about large land purchases and easements that reduce taxable acreage, potential gaps in PILT coverage and the effects on county property-tax bases. Several members criticized the expedited conference process and urged greater transparency and use of project books that list detailed uses.

Next steps
With the conference report adopted, agencies will implement grants and acquisitions under the bill language; several senators said they will follow up on PILT calculations, project prioritization and oversight of major land acquisitions.
","The Senate approved House File 2563, the four‑fund Legacy appropriation bill, after debate about transparency and project prioritization. Passage was 37–30. Critics raised concerns about large land acquisitions, diminished local tax base (PILT), and priority project lists and caps that could limit funding for festivals and community events.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6546892,"Senate passes judiciary and public-safety omnibus after heated debate over training, victim services and Stillwater Prison",631,1980000,2611000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3376086-a7c3356eee0a36d829a76da3544dbb9c&start=1980&end=2611","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3376086-a7c3356eee0a36d829a76da3544dbb9c/thumbnail_1980000.jpg","/articles/6546892/Minnesota/Senate-passes-judiciary-and-public-safety-omnibus-after-heated-debate-over-training-victim-services-and-Stillwater-Prison","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6546892-0d9be5af5d2d6f8cef1ed5a1a6283f5c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770433614&Signature=hmiLmkoa4dp0~srDnYZZQz9sIdz8-mVjXrkyKDl5gkL6ifSApx1h-dmMlewkmtlcrQ2FOLTzb1p7dj-uskeq1NZb4Wf1Ib~AsQ-z0D86CWL8kL84XaIPT1nnn9mVokTJ05kvZG9YdtCqZMhiK9vTqXFacS-FPcwdVAzidK4AUsdlB97FUNSi1hEc3-bCfnuu6RfbwCmVsO-y3uKV-QKfnVCD6wj~4jhLJ2B2lrRabeneRizTUwWHifrjhF18jjjs89BWmrtP~F27pLk7LrrVpjeH-l6DSMjVnRl~ftNXpVfmH65vE6QIYMA9f~KRGtklGHj2r8G4Obj7Hc9XKgqTwA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Minnesota Senate narrowly adopted the conference committee report on House File 2432, an omnibus judiciary and public‑safety policy and appropriations bill, in a recorded vote the secretary announced as 34 ayes and 33 nays.

Senator Scott Latz (conference committee author) presented the bill package as a targeted, if constrained, set of investments for courts, corrections and public safety that sought to protect crime victims, support law enforcement and fund technical changes to state law. \"This is a slim but effective and carefully targeted judiciary and public safety bill,\" Latz said on the floor.

The conference report set specific funding targets and appropriations that drew disagreement about tradeoffs. Latz said the judiciary target was $19,163,000 with tails of $54,882,000, and a separate public safety target of $88,260,000 with tails of $57,257,000. The bill includes appropriations for victim services, the Philando Castile training fund, prosecutor training grants, use‑of‑force training and critical radio infrastructure, among other items. Latz cited a $9,884,000 appropriation for the Philando Castile training fund and $7,232,000 for crime victim services in the first biennium, plus other funding streams.

Opponents said the bill left important law-enforcement training priorities underfunded and that the conference committee shifted money to agency operating adjustments at the request of the executive branch. Senator Jim Limmer argued the conference report reduced funding reserved for police training and removed funds requested for multi‑jurisdiction violent crime enforcement teams (VSET). \"We also had the request from law enforcement for adequate funds beyond training, which are no longer in the bill,\" Limmer said.

A central flashpoint in debate was a late provision authorizing a phased closure of Stillwater Prison, a facility that senators said houses about 1,200 inmates and employs roughly 500 staff. Multiple senators criticized that the closure language was added without committee hearings or clear legislative deliberation. Senator Limmer and others said the provision amounted to a \"backroom deal\" and warned of risks to corrections staff, inmates and public safety if capacity is reduced without a replacement plan.

Supporters of the closure argued the facility is antiquated and unsafe. Senator Murphy, who said she had toured Stillwater, called the prison \"unsafe for the people who work there\" and for those incarcerated, and described the planned phase‑in as designed to protect workers and inmates while the Department of Corrections implements the change. Conference committee members and other senators said they will pursue oversight hearings later in the year; the author also pledged phased implementation and promised legislative oversight.

Other policy items in the conference report drew support from across the aisle: an expansion of peace officer death benefits, creation of a task force on mandatory minimum sentences, funding for forensic examiners and adjustments to mobile tracking-device use for fleeing vehicles. Some members praised inclusion of mandatory minimums for first‑degree trafficking and the change to the statute of limitations for arson.

The roll-call result on the conference report was 34–33 in favor; senators later recorded final passage of the bill and its title agreed to as amended by the conference committee.

Votes at a glance
House File 2432 (judiciary, public safety, corrections, and government data practices policy) — Motion to adopt conference committee report: Moved by Senator Scott Latz; outcome: adopted; roll-call vote: 34 yes, 33 no.

What changed and why it matters
The conference report funds some targeted training and victim‑service priorities but also shifts a large share of the budget to agency operating adjustments, according to multiple floor speakers. Sponsors said they included funding for the Philando Castile training fund and additional victim‑services funding; critics said dedicated training dollars were reduced from prior expectations, potentially shifting costs to local property taxpayers or counties.

Concerns and clarifications
Opponents repeatedly criticized the addition of the Stillwater closure directive to the conference report without separate committee hearings, arguing it short‑circuited public and legislative review. Supporters said the facility is outdated and unsafe and that a phased approach with oversight will protect staff and incarcerated people.

Next steps
The bill passed the Senate after the close vote; conferees and some authors indicated they will schedule oversight hearings this summer and follow the phased implementation of corrections changes closely.
","The Senate adopted the conference committee report on House File 2432, the judiciary and public-safety omnibus, after a close 34–33 vote. Debate focused on funding choices for police training and victim services, and an eleventh‑hour provision to phase out Stillwater Prison that drew sustained criticism for process and oversight.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Senate adopts conference report on agriculture budget, preserves food-access and cottage-food changes

Senate approves Legacy appropriations conference report amid disputes over land purchases, priority projects and festival funding

Senate passes judiciary and public-safety omnibus after heated debate over training, victim services and Stillwater Prison