Gov. Dayton Signs Flood Relief Bill
By:
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The House met shortly after 2 p.m. Friday afternoon, where the flood relief bill was introduced before state representatives, minus Duluth’s Kerry Gauthier because of his scandal.
The bill was quickly scrutinized by Republican Rep. Mark Buesgens of Savage, who says he has no problem with a flood relief bill, but rather disappointed with the process.
"We have no public hearing. We have no testimony. We have no committee meetings. We have no input from 95 percent of this body," said Buesgens.
Fellow Republican, Tim Kelly of Red Wing, argued that the bill does have a good plan in place for businesses affected by the flooding, so the state can recoup some of the money it will be dishing out.
"If they're in business for a 10–year time period, 50 percent of that fund or that loan can be forgiven. The 50 percent that they've paid back will now go into the disaster relief fund," said Kelly.
The House overwhelmingly voted to pass the bill and onto the Senate floor 125-3.
Senator Roger Reinert (DFL) Duluth said, "For the handful of homes and I’ve got seven in my district that were completely destroyed and cannot be rebuilt because their lot washed away or because the hillside they're on is no longer stable. It's going to help these people wipe the slate clean and start over."
Like the house, the senate had little opposition in passing the bill, with a final vote of 60-7.
But, the talk of the day might have been how climate changes are a real concern and how Minnesota can better prepare for future disasters.
"Severe weather events are becoming more and more frequent and I think that we're going to need to face this in future disasters as well. I think we owe it to the people of Minnesota and to our kids to figure out what the best response in this situation is," said Sen. Tony Lourey (DFL) Kerrick.
