The Minnesota Senate today with broad bipartisan support passed the Jobs and Economic Growth bill. The bill prioritizes business and economic recovery for all of Minnesota, while offering economic stability without adding any burdens or regulations that would hinder recovery efforts. Senate File 9 focuses on economic recovery; workforce training and business development services; and addresses the shortage of childcare in many communities.
The bill creates the Main Street Economic Revitalization Program and the Main Street COVID19 Relief programs to assist businesses statewide faced with financial hardship. The programs will provide grants to eligible organizations to businesses and nonprofits for economic development and redevelopment projects, and to businesses that have been directly or indirectly impacted by COVID-19.
The bill includes $400K for a Career and Technical Educator Pilot Project at Winona State University, including $250k for Winona State University and $150k for Minnesota State College Southeast.
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.
“One of our most important priorities as legislators is to create an economic environment where families and small business owners want to live and invest in Minnesota,” said Sen. Jeremy Miller (R-Winona). “I am proud of our longstanding, bipartisan commitment to innovative public-private initiatives that foster job growth, economic development, and workforce training opportunities throughout the state. I am particularly excited about the grants for Winona State and Minnesota State Southeast to train more technical and industrial teachers to provide more students with more opportunities to learn valuable and employable skill sets. I want to say a special thank you to Rep. Gene Pelowski in the House for his tireless work on behalf of these important grants. This bill will be incredibly beneficial, not just for our area, but for the entire state.”
Key provisions in the bill include the following:
- Provides key investments in the state’s growing workforce
- 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.