Senate debates HF2442 energy omnibus; rejects bipartisan amendment, approves wood‑waste change and tables bill

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Senate on May 9 debated House File 2442, the energy omnibus measure, during a lengthy floor session that ended with the chamber rejecting a large bipartisan amendment, approving an amendment classifying certain wood waste as carbon‑neutral and then voting to lay the bill on the table.

The bill, presented on the floor as the energy omnibus, contains both budget and policy elements. The bill sponsor told senators the package included a required biennial budget reduction of $4,000,000 largely achieved by reducing weatherization funding, while preserving the governor’s requested operating increases for the Department of Commerce and the Public Utilities Commission, including information‑technology requests. "This is a basic cut target. We had to cut $4,000,000 from the energy biennium budget," the sponsor said.

Why this matters: committee supporters and opponents said the changes affect household energy costs and long‑term clean‑energy goals. The bill’s fiscal provisions include funds from the Renewable Development Account (RDA) for projects named on the floor — a green hydrogen project in St. Cloud, microgrid research at the University of Saint…