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Minnesota House of Representatives

Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy

TWENTY-FOURTH MEETING

2025-2026 Regular Session - Thursday, March 12, 2026

STATE OF MINNESOTA TWENTY-FOURTH MEETING
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NINETY-FOURTH SESSION


Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee

MINUTES

Representative Josh Heintzeman, Chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee, called the meeting to order at 1:01 PM, on March 12, 2026, in Room G3 of the Capitol Building.

Members present:

HEINTZEMAN, Josh, GOP Chair
FISCHER, Peter, DFL Chair
BURKEL, John, GOP Vice Chair
PURSELL, Kristi, DFL Vice Chair
FALCONER, Alex
FINKE, Leigh
GILLMAN, Dawn
GOTTFRIED, David
HANSEN, Rick
JACOB, Steven
JORDAN, Sydney
NELSON, Nathan
WARWAS, Cal
SCHULTZ, Isaac

A quorum was present.

HF 1531 (Heintzeman) Expiration of crossbow hunting and fishing allowance removed.

Chair Heintzeman moved that HF 1531 be placed on the General Register.

Chair Heintzeman moved the H1531DE1 amendment. THE MOTION PREVAILED. THE AMENDMENT WAS ADOPTED.

Chair Heintzeman renewed the motion that HF 1531, as amended, be placed on the General Register. THE MOTION PREVAILED.

HF 4146 (Igo) Temporary authority to store drill cores outside the drill core library provided.

Chair Heintzeman moved that HF 4146 be placed on the General Register.

The following individual testified on HF 4146:

Joe Henderson, Director of Lands and Minerals, Department of Natural Resources.

Chair Heintzeman renewed the motion that HF 4146 be placed on the General Register. THE MOTION PREVAILED.

HF 3399 (Johnson) Lake Elmo; requirements to issue water-use permits modified.

Chair Heintzeman moved that HF 3399 be laid over for possible inclusion in a future bill.

The following individuals testified on HF 3399:

Clark Schroeder, Special Projects Manager, City of Lake Elmo.
Melissa Kuskie, Director of Ecological and Water Resources Division, Department of Natural Resources.

Chair Heintzeman renewed the motion that HF 3399 be laid over for possible inclusion in a future bill.

Chair Heintzeman laid over HF 3399.

HF 4017 (Johnson) Notice of unlawfully transported infectious waste required, inspections of infectious waste generators required, financial penalties for unlawfully transporting infectious waste assessed, and money appropriated.

Chair Heintzeman moved that HF 4017 be re-referred to the Ways and Means Committee.

Chair Heintzeman moved the H4017A4 amendment. THE MOTION PREVAILED. THE AMENDMENT WAS ADOPTED.

The following individuals testified on HF 4017, as amended:

Karla Bigham, Washington County Commissioner, Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Board member.
Brad Prazack, Journeyman Processor, Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center.
Michelle Benson, Senior Director of State Government Relations, Minnesota Hospital Association.
Kirk Koudelka, Assistant Commissioner, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Sam Holl, Facility Director, Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center.

Chair Heintzeman renewed the motion that HF4017, as amended, be re-referred to the Ways and Means Committee. THE MOTION PREVAILED.

HF 4019 (Schultz) Mt. Simon-Hinckley aquifer appropriation permits eligibility criteria expanded.

Representative Schultz moved HF 4019 before the committee.

The following individuals testified on HF 4019:

Stu Lourey, Government Relations Director, Minnesota Farmer’s Union.
Melissa Kuskie, Director of Ecological and Water Resources Division, Department of Natural Resources.
Andrew Hillman, Water Resources Specialist, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
Jim Berg.

Representative Schultz moved the H4019DE1 amendment.

The following individual provided a walkthrough of the H4019DE1 amendment:

Melissa Kuskie, Director of Ecological and Water Resources Division, Department of Natural Resources.

Representative Schultz withdrew the H4019DE1 amendment.

Chair Heintzeman laid over HF 4019 for possible inclusion in a future bill.


The meeting was adjourned at 2:19 PM.




Representative Josh Heintzeman, Chair


Shaelong Yang, Committee Legislative Assistant

More Info On This Meeting..
Bills Added:
  • HF1531 (Heintzeman) - Expiration of crossbow hunting and fishing allowance removed.
  • HF4017 (Johnson) - Notice of unlawfully transported infectious or pathological waste required, inspections of infectious waste or pathological waste generators required, financial penalties for unlawfully transporting infectious or pathological waste assessed, and money appropriated.
  • HF3399 (Johnson) - Lake Elmo; requirements to issue water-use permits modified.
  • HF4019 (Schultz) - Mt. Simon-Hinckley aquifer appropriation permits eligibility criteria expanded.
  • HF4146 (Igo) - Temporary authority to store drill cores outside the drill core library provided.
Documents:
Audio:
Listen Now
House TV Video:
View Archive

01:33 - HF1531 (Heintzeman) Expiration of crossbow hunting and fishing allowance removed.
03:33 - HF4146 (Igo) Temporary authority to store drill cores outside the drill core library provided.
11:19 - HF3399 (Johnson, W.) Lake Elmo; requirements to issue water-use permits modified.
26:47 - HF4017 (Johnson, W.) Notice of unlawfully transported infectious waste required, inspections of infectious waste generators required, financial penalties for unlawfully transporting infectious waste assessed, and money appropriated.
53:02 - HF4019 (Schultz) Mt Simon-Hinckley aquifer appropriation permits eligibility criteria expanded.
Runs 1 hour, 18 minutes.

HF1531 (Heintzeman) - Expiration of crossbow hunting and fishing allowance removed. (No testimony will be taken as this issue was discussed extensively during the 2/26/26 hearing).
HF4017 (Johnson) - Notice of unlawfully transported infectious waste required, inspections of infectious waste generators required, financial penalties for unlawfully transporting infectious waste assessed, and money appropriated.
HF3399 (Johnson) - Lake Elmo; requirements to issue water-use permits modified.
HF4146 (Igo) - Temporary drill core storage.

Bill Added to agenda:
HF 4019 (Schultz) - Mt. Simon-Hinckley aquifer appropriation permits eligibility criteria expanded.

Bill Removed from Agenda:
HF3677 (Warwas) - Motorized trails receiving grants-in-aid closed to nonmotorized use unless designated for that use.

*Items may be added, removed, or taken up in any order at the Chair's discretion.

TESTIMONY AND MATERIALS SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Individuals wishing to testify or submit written testimony or handouts for the hearing must e-mail the committee administrator (amy.zipko@house.mn.gov) by 1 p.m. the day prior to the hearing. Handouts must be in PDF format with OCR capability. In-person testimony may be limited due to committee time constraints.

AMENDMENT DEADLINE: Amendments must be e-mailed to the committee administrator by 3 p.m. the day prior to the hearing.