Senator Tom Saxhaug, and Representative Jeanne Poppe have introduced a bill in the Minnesota legislature to help establish an advanced biofuel and renewable chemicals industry in Minnesota. The Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota, a multi-stakeholder partnership, is strongly supportive and will be working closely with Sen. Saxhaug and Rep. Poppe to advance the bill during the 2014 legislative session.
The bill makes it easier to finance the construction of commercial-scale facilities using agricultural and forestry materials to produce bioindustrial products. The bill helps transition the biofuels industry towards greater use of a variety of biomass feedstocks (as opposed to just corn grain) to produce fuels. It also helps establish an industry that will produce less toxic, safer alternatives to toxic ingredients found in typical household and industrial plastics, chemicals, and materials.
The bill does two things: 1) Create a capital equipment loan program for renewable chemical and advanced biofuel projects, and 2) Create a production incentive for advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biomass thermal energy.
HF 2456 – Current authors include: Chief Author – Jeanne Poppe (DFL*-Austin), Co-authors – Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake), Tom Anzlec (DFL-Balsam Township), Bob Gunther (R-Fairmont), Erin Murphy (DFL- St. Paul), Shannon Savick (DFL-Wells), Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) and Paul Anderson (R-Starbuck), Barb Yarusso (DFL- Shoreview), and Mike Freiberg (DFL – Golden Valley).
SF 2101 – Current authors include: Chief Author – Tom Saxhaug (DFL- Grand Rapids), Co-authors – Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont) Terri Bonoff (DFL- Minnetonka), and David Tomassoni (DFL – Chisholm).
The next step will be committee hearings in the House and Senate.
*Readers Note: In Minnesota the official name of the Democratic Party is DFL (Democratic- Farm-Labor) and was the result of a merger of the Democratic Party and the Farmer-Labor Party in 1944.
