Capitol Comments by Peggy Bennett

 

As a representative, I always listen to the ideas, opinions and yes — even complaints — relating to state government. For some time, I have been hearing significant frustrations expressed by farmers, small business owners and everyday Minnesotans about what they see as a disconnect between them and the state regulatory agencies meant to serve them.

What we’ve seen from our state agencies is a method of top-down rule-making that leaves Minnesotans out of the critical decision-making process. A perfect example of this is the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources’ (BWSR) proposed buffer penalties that were recently announced. This agency had taken the current penalty in law (up to a $500 fine for non-compliance) and, with no stakeholder input, proposed going up to $500 per linear foot with no guidance as to how often the fine could be assessed.

The House Agriculture Policy Committee, on which I serve, held a hearing regarding these new proposed penalties last week. Understandably, farmers felt quite blindsided by this. We heard farmer after farmer testify in our hearing concerning the extreme nature of these unrealistic penalties, their lack of input into the plan, as well as their frustrations that the rules are constantly changing on them week by week and month by month, making it very difficult for them to simply just do their jobs.

The Legislature’s intent when it greatly scaled back Gov. Dayton’s buffer law was not to have the state come down heavy-handed on farmers, but instead to have our local soil and water officials work alongside farmers, educate them and assist them in creating buffer zones between cropland and public waters. According to the law, these buffer zones can be a grassy vegetation buffer area of ground near the waters, or an alternative practice that accomplishes the same purpose. There is no one-size-fits-all here, nor should there be.

I am thankful that the governor and Board of Water and Soil Resources have taken this extreme penalty proposal off the table at this time. However, this whole fiasco has brought to the forefront a bigger picture issue that has been an ongoing frustration for the agriculture community, our local main street businesses and everyday citizens for years: lack of transparency and lack of opportunity to provide input before major policy proposals are dropped on them by state agencies.

Whether it’s buffer strips, ditch mowing, storm water runoff or city wastewater treatment regulations, administrative actions should not come as a complete surprise, and stakeholders should not go away feeling they had little input or that their concerns were not adequately addressed. The “boots-on-the-ground” people, as I call them — those who live and work every day with these issues — deserve a significant voice. As a matter of fact, their voices are absolutely necessary to help build regulatory rules that will actually work and achieve the intended goals.

The current government agency process of developing major policy rules behind closed doors and then releasing them for public reaction is not working and must stop. This is poor governance and only serves to drive larger wedges between government and the people.

I believe the answer is to allow Minnesotan citizens the opportunity to be involved in the decision-making process while the rules are being made — not just after the fact. This will allow government to work for the people and with the people — and that’s how it should be. I’m in St. Paul to be a voice for our area and will continue to advocate for our residents who feel the state is not listening to them.

Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea, is the District 27A representative.