House Tax Committee advances $5-per-acre Ag Water Quality credit; funding source changed to Clean Water Fund

The House Tax Committee on a voice vote on Wednesday moved House File 363, the Ag Water Quality Certification bill authored by Representative Jacob, to the Legacy Committee after adopting an amendment that changes the proposed funding source from the state general fund to the Clean Water Fund.

The bill would create a $5-per-acre property tax credit for acres in an eight-county area of southeast Minnesota that are enrolled in the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program. Representative Jacob described the measure as a bipartisan pilot that “ties a $5 per acre tax credit to any acres in the outlined 8 county area in Southeast Minnesota that are enrolled in the Ag Water Quality Certification Program.”

Supporters said the credit is intended to expand participation in a certification program they called unique to Minnesota and to encourage adoption of conservation practices in a karst geology region where…