Jasinski: Senate Republican jobs and economic growth budget prioritizes business and economic recovery for all of Minnesota

Today the Minnesota Senate approved a comprehensive Jobs and Economic Growth budget bill with bipartisan support. The bill promotes business and economic recovery for all of Minnesota. Senate File 9 focuses on economic recovery; workforce training and business development services; and addresses the shortage of childcare in many communities.  

“Minnesota workers and businesses have endured a really difficult year,” said Senator John Jasinski (R-Faribault). “They have all made immense sacrifices to survive Gov. Walz’s business restrictions and shutdown orders. The resources in this bill will help our economy regain the strength it had before Covid-19 and before the governor shut things down.”

The bill also includes a $70 million investment in broadband development. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of expanding broadband into underserved and unserved communities. This will investment will help close those gaps.

Provisions authored by Senator Jasinski included in the bill:

  • $1 million for AIR grants, the innovative program developed by Senator Jasinski to generate economic development at local and regional airports.
  • $250,000 in both 2022 and 2023 to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities for workforce readiness, employment exploration, and skills development for kids and young adults between the ages of 12 and 21.
  • $275,000 in both 2022 and 2023 for workforce development in Owatonna and the Steele County area, including grants to provide career education, wraparound support services, and job skills training in high-demand manufacturing fields. Recipients of the grants could include low-income parents, non-native English speakers, and other hard-to-train individuals.
  • $875,000 in each of the next two years for the SciTech internship program, which connects college students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to paid internships in small to mid-sized Minnesota companies. 
  • $3.5 million for the Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure (BDPI) program. Senator Jasinski has been a long-time advocate for this critical program, which provides grants to Greater Minnesota communities to help encourage growth, create or retain jobs, or build the tax base.

Other key provisions in the bill include the following:

  • Provides key investments in the state’s growing workforce.
  • Creation of the Main Street Economic Revitalization Program and the Main Street COVID19 Relief programs to assist businesses statewide faced with financial hardship.
  • Expands options for individuals to receive Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits while simultaneously receiving workforce training services.
  • Expansion of workplace accommodations for pregnant and nursing mothers. 
  • Removal of provision that makes high school students ineligible for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits.
  • Inclusion of the crucial “Wedding Barn Bill” to ensure smaller venues are not forced to take on massive financial investments to install sprinklers.

Notably, this bill does NOT include any burdensome mandates, expensive new programs, or excessive regulations on businesses. The legislation now heads to the House for a final vote, before heading to the Governor for a final signature.