HF 1704 Minnesota House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Department of Agriculture, the Board of Animal Health, the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, and the Office of Broadband Development budget established; policy and technical changes made to agricultural and broadband provisions; rulemaking authorized; reports required; and money appropriated.

HF 1704 appropriates $6.7 million for fiscal year 2026 and $6.834 million for fiscal year 2027 from the state's general fund to the Board of Animal Health. This funding supports the Board's core responsibilities under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 35, including animal health programs and regulatory oversight. The bill directly affects the Board of Animal Health by providing specific, dedicated financial resources for its operations. Note: The provided bill text only details this appropriation; the full bill title suggests additional provisions, but no further details are included in the given context.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 27, 2025 Last action Mar 13, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduction → 1st Engrossment · 5 edits · Mar 13, 2025

MODERATE

This bill was updated from its introduction version to its first engrossment, incorporating significant new funding allocations for the Department of Agriculture and the Board of Animal Health for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The changes include substantial increases in appropriations for programs like soil health, crop damage compensation, and agricultural research, alongside the addition of new statutory sections to formalize these funding streams and establish a biofertilizer innovation program. The scope of the bill expanded to cover a comprehensive budget for multiple agricultural entities, replacing a single appropriation for the Board of Animal Health with a detailed multi-agency funding plan.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a single appropriation for the Board of Animal Health to a comprehensive budget covering the Department of Agriculture, Board of Animal Health, Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, and Office of Broadband Development, including new policy changes for biofertilizers and broadband provisions.

FISCAL

Added extensive new appropriations for the Department of Agriculture, including $62.4 million for general operations, $24.7 million for agricultural marketing, and $15 million for administration and financial assistance.

Established a new Biofertilizer Innovation and Efficiency Program with funding to incentivize farmers to reduce commercial nitrogen fertilizer use through biofertilizers.

Replaced the single Board of Animal Health appropriation with a detailed breakdown of funding for various programs, including protection services, remediation, and livestock compensation.

REQUIREMENT

Added new statutory requirements for the Department of Agriculture to report on biofuel infrastructure projects and to provide mental health support services to farmers.

TIMELINE

Extended the availability of certain appropriations to carry over into subsequent fiscal years, such as funds for soil health and agricultural growth programs.

Floor votes

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No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report, to adopt as amended and re-refer to Ways and Means

lower

Feb 27, 2025

Introduced

Introduction and first reading, referred to Agriculture Finance and Policy

lower

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors