Meat cutting and butchery training grants appropriation

A bill for an act

relating to workforce development; appropriating money for grants for meat cutting

and butchery training; requiring a report.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.
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MEAT CUTTING GRANTS; APPROPRIATION.
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(a) $225,000 in fiscal year 2027 is appropriated from the workforce development fund

to the commissioner of employment and economic development to provide grants to

secondary career and technical education programs to offer instruction in meat cutting and

butchery. This is a onetime appropriation. Grants may be used for costs, including but not

limited to:

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(1) equipment required for a meat cutting program;

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(2) facility renovation to accommodate meat cutting; and

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(3) training faculty to teach the fundamentals of meat processing.

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(b) A grant recipient may be awarded a grant of up to $75,000 and may use up to ten

percent of the grant for faculty training.

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(c) Priority may be given to applicants who are coordinating with meat cutting and

butchery programs at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institutions or with local

industry partners.

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(d) By January 15, 2028, the commissioner must report to the chairs and ranking minority

members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over agriculture finance, education

finance, and workforce development finance a list of the grants, including the amount

awarded to each grantee, made under this section by county and note the number and amount

of grant requests not fulfilled. The report may include additional information as determined

by the commissioner, including but not limited to information regarding the outcomes

produced by these grants. If additional grants are awarded under this section that were not

covered in the report due by January 15, 2028, the commissioner must submit an additional

report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with

jurisdiction over agriculture finance, education finance, and workforce development finance

regarding all grants issued under this section by November 1, 2028.

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(e) The Department of Employment and Economic Development may enter into an

interagency agreement with the Department of Agriculture, including agreements to transfer

funds, to administer the program.

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