Time for Legislative Action in 2023
Minnesota Trout Unlimited 4-30-2023
The Minnesota Senate passed a bill including a requirement that state agencies identify the statutes and rules that should be changed to prevent fish kills in Southeast MN. This provision was rolled into the large Environment Omnibus bill HF2310. However, the House version of the bill does not contain this requirement. We need your help now to make sure the Senate’s fish kill prevention requirement stays in the final bill.
Because the House and Senate versions of HF 2310 differ, a “Conference Committee” will meet to decide the differences. The Senate provision was proposed by Minnesota TU and we are urging the Conference Committee to adopt it. The provision is found in Article 4, section 71 of the 2nd Unofficial Engrossment. Emails to Conference Committee members are needed to make sure this fish kill prevention measure becomes law.
The first meeting of the Conference Committee on HF2310 is Monday May 1 at 9:00 a.m. Emails prior to the first meeting are best, although emails throughout Monday will be effective. If you would like your comments to be considered “written testimony”, you must submit them to staff: Peter.Strohmeier@house.mn.gov and Kara.Josephson@senate.mn – by noon, Sunday April 30, 2023.
Address your emails/letters to the “Members of the Conference Committee on HF2310”. Ask them to adopt the Senate provision requiring state agencies to recommend changes to laws and rules to prevent fish kills in the Driftless area of southeast MN. Share how important this resource is to you.
You can also let your representatives (House and Senate) know how important this is and ask them to put pressure on their colleagues on the Conference Committee to ensure they adopt the Senate requirement. Find the names and get contact links to your representatives using this link the MN Legislature’s website: LCC-GIS (mn.gov)
House Conferees: Hansen, Acomb, Hollins, Jordan, Kraft
Senate Conferees: Hawj, Frentz, McEwen, Xiong, Coleman
Education Funding too!
The Environment & Natural Resources Trust Fund appropriations, including the funding for MNTU’s environmental education program (“Teaching Students About Watersheds Through Outdoor Science”) has also been rolled into the large Environment Omnibus bill HF2310. It is found in only the House version of that bill [3rd Engrossment, Article 2, Sec. 2, Subd. 5 (g)]. The Conference Committee will also decide whether the ENRTF appropriations (and MNTU education funding) stay in the final bill.
Emails to Conference Committee members are needed to make sure the ENRTF appropriations stay in the final bill. Address your emails/letters to the “Members of the Conference Committee on HF2310” and send them via committee staff – Peter.Strohmeier@house.mn.gov and Kara.Josephson@senate.mn
Thank you for helping get these key measures passed into law.
John P. Lenczewski
Executive Director, Minnesota Trout Unlimited