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Senate passes agriculture bill with technical fixes and a prompt on cell‑culture labeling
Summary
Senate File 4561, a largely technical agriculture bill that updates definitions, noxious weed procedures and food handling rules and includes a provision on labeling cell‑cultured meat, passed unanimously after several floor amendments were adopted.
The Minnesota Senate gave final passage April 20, 2026 to Senate File 4561, a bill chiefly composed of technical and procedural changes to agricultural statutes.
Sen. Putnam, the bill sponsor, described the measure as mainly bureaucratic edits — redefining terms such as "propagate," updating noxious‑weed control procedures, and modernizing food‑handling administration. He also noted a provision that would require labels on cell‑culture meat products.
On the floor Putnam offered the A15 amendment to remove redundant licensure changes for veterinary technicians; the amendment was adopted. Another adopted amendment clarified the bill language by substituting the phrase "trail events" for "trails" to better reflect legislative intent. Senators asked several policy questions during debate about when "propagating" noxious weeds could be permitted by permit and whether state agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources would be covered by the bill's restrictions; Putnam said the bill implements recommendations from a task force on noxious weeds and that further discussion about agency parity could follow.
The secretary closed the roll on final passage with 67 yeas and zero nays. Sponsors said the bill is intended to streamline agricultural regulation and bring statutory language in line with operational practice.
Quote: "These recommendations structure how the Department of Agriculture can make sure that these weeds do not proliferate," Sen. Putnam said in support of the bill.
Ending: Senate File 4561 passed unanimously and will move forward in the legislative process for enrollment and any subsequent steps required for enactment.
