Senator Jasinski and Senate Republicans continue Advancing Minnesota with new commitments to Public Safety, the Judiciary, and Higher Education

 

Minnesota Senate Republicans are Advancing Minnesota

The new Senate Republican majority continued a successful 2017 session last night by passing their first two Advancing Minnesota budget bills off the Senate floor. Senate File 803 is the Judiciary and Public safety budget, while Senate File 2214 funds Minnesota’s Higher Education system.

Senate File 803 provides $2.23 billion to public safety, corrections, and the courts, with a focus on keeping Minnesotans safe.

“Our Judiciary and Public safety budget makes important commitments to the courts and to our public safety agencies to make sure Minnesotans are kept safe,” said Sen. John Jasinski (R-Faribault). One of our top priorities was that no agency would have their base funding cut, and I’m proud we were able to accomplish that.”

“That said, we can – and should – do more,” added Sen. Jasinski. “This is just the first step in a long negotiation process. As a strong supporter of our Department of Corrections and the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Faribault, I’ll continue fighting to make sure these agencies get the funding they need to be successful.”

New funding in the Judiciary budget bill includes:

  • $6 million to strengthen supervision of offenders on probation
  • $1.1 million to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for more analysts to assist in complex narcotics and homicide investigations, a forensic firearms examiner, and a drug chemistry forensic scientist
  • $1 million for Violent Crime Enforcement Teams to fight narcotics traffickers, gangs, and other violent crime
  • $160,000 for reimbursements to Minnesota’s expert FBI-trained bomb squads
  • $720,000 in for law enforcement officer training
  • $150,000 for non-profit security grants to combat terroristic threats
  • $3 million for critical technology upgrades at the Department of Corrections.

Senate File 2214, the Higher Education Budget, provides $3.17 billion – a $100 million increase over the last budget – to make college more affordable, address workforce gaps, and encourage new research and innovation advancements.

“One big reason Minnesota is such an attractive state is that we have so many fortune 500 companies. The reason those companies are here is because have a nation-leading higher education system. While there are still some improvements to be made, this bill is a step in the right direction of building on our tradition of excellence in higher education,” concluded Sen. Jasinski.

Provisions in the Higher Education budget include:

  • $10 million for the Minnesota State Grant program to help make college more affordable
  • A two-year tuition freeze at Minnesota State institutions
  • $350,000 for emergency financial assistance for students facing homelessness.
  • $6 million for spinal cord and traumatic brain injury research
  • $4 million for the Minnesota Discovery, Research, and InnoVation Economy program at the University of Minnesota for advanced cancer research
  • $2 million to expand research by the Natural Resources Research Institute on agriculture, forestry, mining, and water resources.
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