1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to environment; appropriating money for a weather resilience program in 
1.3 	the University of Minnesota Extension Service.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. APPROPRIATION; UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION 
1.6 	SERVICE WEATHER READY PROGRAM.
 1.7 	(a) $7,000,000 in fiscal year 2024 and $8,000,000 in fiscal year 2025 are appropriated 
1.8 	from the general fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota for a program 
1.9 	in the University of Minnesota Extension Service that will enhance the capacity of the state's 
1.10 	agricultural sector, land and resource managers, and communities to plan for and adapt to 
1.11 	weather extremes like droughts and floods. These funds remain available until June 30, 
1.12 	2030. The base in fiscal year 2026 and beyond is $1,000,000.
1.13 	(b) This appropriation must be used to support existing extension service staff members 
1.14 	and to hire additional staff members for a program with broad geographic reach throughout 
1.15 	the state. The program must:
1.16 	(1) identify, develop, implement, and evaluate educational programs that increase the 
1.17 	capacity of Minnesota's agricultural sector, land and resource managers, and communities 
1.18 	to be prepared for and adapt to projected physical changes in temperature, precipitation, 
1.19 	and other weather parameters that affect crops, lands, horticulture, pests, and wildlife in 
1.20 	ways that present challenges to the state's agricultural sector and the communities that 
1.21 	depend on it; and
2.1 	(2) communicate and interpret the latest research on critical weather trends and their 
2.2 	scientific basis to further prepare extension service staff throughout the state to educate and 
2.3 	provide technical assistance to the agricultural sector, land and resource managers, and 
2.4 	community members at the local level regarding technical information on water resource 
2.5 	management, agriculture and forestry, engineering and infrastructure design, and emergency 
2.6 	management that is necessary for the development of strategies to mitigate the effects of 
2.7 	extreme weather change.