By: Cirien Saadeh

Meeting Date: April 3, 2023

House File 24: Authority modified to ensure safe drinking water, drinking water revolving fund provisions modified, grant program established to replace lead drinking water service lines, grant program established for mapping lead service lines, report required, and money appropriated. 

Chief Author: Rep. Sydney Jordan (DFL – District 60A) 

House Capital Investment – April 3, 2023

Rep. Liz Reyer (Vice Chair) (DFL – District 52A) notes that House File 24 received a full hearing in House Capital Investment on Feb. 27. 

At Feb. 27 committee, House File 24 was laid over as amended by an A6 amendment. 

Rep. Liz Reyer moves House File 24 recommended it be referred to the Ways & Means Committee. 

Previously adopted A6 amendment reconsidered, new amendment moved “to get the bill in the shape the author desires.” 

New A11 Amendment adopted. 

Rep. Reyer welcomes Rep. Jordan to committee to explain House File 24, as amended. 

Rep. Jordan explains the bill, as amended. 

• Says she won’t go over the bill as a whole, but wants to explain the amendments
• Says that the originally-adopted A6 Amendment was a technical amendment, as was the A11 amendment. A4 amendment, also introduced in the previous committee, did not meet legislation’s needs. 
• “The A11 amendment is really a combination of those amendments” to ensure those with most need benefit from the legislation.
  • Updates fiscal amounts to $240 million, including mapping grants and replacement 
• A11 amendment, and bill, are about replacing “as many lead service lines as possible in our state.” 

Rep. Dean Urdahl (GOP – District 16A) 

• “Would you clarify for us what disadvantaged means?”

Rep. Jordan

• “Encourages” members to read the A11 Amendment
  • “It says, “as part of the plan that cities and municipalities need to give to the health department as they’re submitting their projects, they need to talk about the plan: how eligible recipients will prioritize the grant money going towards, how they’re going to remove lead lines that are a more imminent threat to public safety and public health.” 
  • “It will target areas where children have elevated blood lead levels. It will target areas with more children under the age of 5. It will target areas with lower-income residents.”

Rep. Urdahl

• Asks if the determination of what constitutes disadvantaged is up to the “discretion of the community or the entity involved?”

Rep. Jordan

• Prioritization happens in a couples ways including by the Public Utilities Authority in consultation with the Minnesota Department of Health 

Rep. Urdahl

• Says he wants to clarify “on the record the intent of this is not to pit competition between Greater Minnesota and the metro area regarding these lead pipe projects”

Rep. Jordan

• “That is correct. The purpose of this program, and you can even see in the broader bill not the DE1, is that the goal of this bill, and it says very explicitly in the language, is that the goal of House File 24 is to replace all lead service lines in the State of Minnesota.”
• “It’s not the intent of this bill to harbor or create competition between any municipalities or regions of the state.” 

Rep. Leon Lillie (DFL – District 44B)

• Says he thinks it’s a great bill
• “This is a big problem that we have in the state.”
• Thanks Rep. Jordan for her leadership and for working on the bill. 

Rep. Andrew Myers (DFL – District 45A)

• Asks: “The need is large. We’ve seen that. And I’m just interested to know from the progression to, why it started out with $80 million and went to $240 [million]/”

Rep. Jordan

• “That is the budget target we were given.” 

Rep. Jordan: Closing Comments

• “It’s a good bill. I hope members will support it.”

NO public testimony on House File 24, as bill has already been heard in House Capital Investment 

Rep. Reyer renews motion that the bill be referred to Ways & Means. 

Bill referred unanimously to Ways & Means.