ST. PAUL — After a delayed and unusual start to the session, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed its first two bills Thursday, Feb. 27, both with bipartisan support.
House File 289 passed unanimously. It creates a retained savings program for state agencies to encourage innovative cost savings. Agencies can keep half of whatever budgeted dollars they don’t spend and use them on projects that directly support their mission.
A similar rule was passed in 2011 and expired in 2018.
The second bill passed with just three DFLers voting against it. House File 72 prohibits any organization that receives state funding from making political contributions unless the organization uses a separate account for its political activities.
Republican Rep. Elliott Engen of White Bear Township sponsored HF72.
“Minnesotans should not be forced to unknowingly fund people who are actively working against their own values," he said on the House floor. "We should continue looking for ways to make more transparent our elections-related spending.”
Those bills now go to the Senate.
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