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Ports urge tweak to Port Development Assistance language to better leverage federal grants
Summary
Proponents of HF 3982 told the committee a narrow statutory wording change — replacing a reference to the non-federal share with "total cost" — would let ports more readily combine state and federal funds without increasing state spending; MnDOT staff said they do not oppose the change.
Representative Johnson introduced House File 3982, a technical change to the Port Development Assistance Program intended to make it easier for ports to combine state funds with federal grants. Jeff Lot, who identified himself as director of governmental environmental affairs for the Blue Seaway Port Authority and a representative of the Minnesota Ports Association, told the committee that current language requiring a 20% local match can create hurdles when ports seek federal funding and has left awarded state funds unused.
"The restriction on the use of [state] dollars to no more than 80% of the non-federal share has resulted in the inability to fully leverage available federal dollars," Jeff Lot said. He described a recent project where the port could not use roughly $500,000 in awarded state funds and instead had to cover the shortfall with local funds.
Lot and other proponents said the proposed statutory change would not expand the dollar amount available in the Port Development Assistance Program (the program is capped through the committee’s omnibus capital decisions) but would add flexibility so ports can better compete for federal infrastructure grants. Committee members asked no substantive questions and no vote was taken at the hearing.
