1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to economic development; establishing a headwaters community food and 
1.3 	water economic resiliency program; appropriating money;proposing coding for 
1.4 	new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116J.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [116J.544] HEADWATERS COMMUNITY FOOD AND WATER 
1.7 	ECONOMIC RESILIENCY PROGRAM.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have 
1.9 	the meanings given.
1.10 	(b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of employment and economic development.
1.11 	(c) "Regenerative food web" means a decentralized, coordinated system for managing 
1.12 	energy regeneratively in every component of a locally adapted food economy from source 
1.13 	to table that is designed to be inclusive, create capacity for health and well-being, foster a 
1.14 	culture of caring, and recognize the fundamental interdependent relationship of people and 
1.15 	nature.
1.16 		Subd. 2.Program; purpose. The commissioner must administer a headwaters community 
1.17 	food and water economic resiliency program. The purpose of the program is to facilitate 
1.18 	the establishment and maintenance of local and regional regenerative food webs to address 
1.19 	in a sustainable manner the enduring challenges of food, water, and climate. The 
1.20 	commissioner must develop and administer the program in consultation with the advisory 
1.21 	committee established under subdivision 4.
2.1 		Subd. 3.Methods. The commissioner must achieve the purpose in subdivision 2 through 
2.2 	multiple methods, including but not limited to:
2.3 	(1) provide financial and technical assistance for urban and rural producers engaged in 
2.4 	organic, regenerative food systems to expand to year-round operations; promote in situ 
2.5 	research to collect and utilize local ecological knowledge; conduct seed and plant exchange; 
2.6 	and restore aquifers, leadership training, network facilitation, crop insurance, advancing 
2.7 	the revival of food systems defined by cultures of Black people, Indigenous people, and 
2.8 	people of color, and other operations supports;
2.9 	(2) provide financial and technical assistance for producers transitioning to organic, 
2.10 	regenerative agriculture, including but not limited to transition planning and the provision 
2.11 	of a stipend or other form of income support during the transition period;
2.12 	(3) provide financial and technical support to establish neighborhood-based food hubs 
2.13 	or commons, including support for existing hubs and learning centers;
2.14 	(4) provide funding for long-term, in situ research throughout a regenerative food web 
2.15 	to effectively generate, track, and utilize knowledge and restore biological diversity;
2.16 	(5) provide ecological infrastructure investments to manage energy regeneratively, 
2.17 	including creation of locally adapted perennial landscapes for cultivated food sourcing and 
2.18 	for conducting long-term holistic research of microorganisms, carbon capture, plants, seeds 
2.19 	and foods, and community-based campaigns that engage imaginations and promote a culture 
2.20 	of care;
2.21 	(6) provide financial and technical assistance to establish rights of personhood for 
2.22 	ecosystems that sustain life, including the right to live and thrive;
2.23 	(7) facilitate enhancement of the legal rights of nature and the ecosystems that sustain 
2.24 	life;
2.25 	(8) provide financial and technical assistance to support each component of a regenerative 
2.26 	food web, including food producers, preservation, and preparation; neighborhood food hubs; 
2.27 	reusable storage and delivery systems; emergency preparedness; and the local and regional 
2.28 	partnerships necessary to support regenerative food web operations;
2.29 	(9) develop a financial investment fund to provide resources to educate and establish 
2.30 	new regenerative farmers of all racial identities, including farmers who are Black, Indigenous, 
2.31 	and people of color, in communities located in the headwaters communities including 
2.32 	individual, cooperative, and small-scale operations;
3.1 	(10) provide affordable and accessible health care for every member of the food web 
3.2 	economy to ensure that the system is economically robust and can operate effectively; and
3.3 	(11) provide a financial subsidy to make fruits and vegetables affordable for all income 
3.4 	levels.
3.5 		Subd. 4.Advisory committee. (a) The Headwaters Community Food and Water 
3.6 	Economic Resiliency Advisory Committee is established and consists of persons from urban 
3.7 	and rural communities who represent the following groups, as appointed by the commissioner 
3.8 	of employment and economic development: local regenerative and organic farmers, 
3.9 	neighborhood food hubs, cooperatives, culinary schools, local food restaurateurs, community 
3.10 	organizers, food council members, system managers, scientists, researchers, students, and 
3.11 	public health officials. Members may be employed in the web economy and must include 
3.12 	leaders who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
3.13 	The commissioner may remove members and fill vacancies as provided in section 15.059, 
3.14 	subdivision 4.
3.15 	(b) The advisory committee must advise the commissioner regarding the establishment 
3.16 	and operation of the headwaters community food and water economic resiliency program, 
3.17 	including but not limited to program criteria, eligibility guidelines, application processes, 
3.18 	monitoring and accountability mechanisms, leveraging additional public and private 
3.19 	investments, and promoting the program statewide.
3.20 	(c) The commissioner must convene the advisory committee at least two times per year 
3.21 	to perform the committee's duties.
3.22 	(d) The commissioner must provide staffing, meeting space, and administrative services 
3.23 	for the advisory committee.
3.24 	(e) The commissioner or the commissioner's designee is the chair of the committee.
3.25 	(f) Public members of the advisory committee serve without compensation or payment 
3.26 	of expenses.
3.27 	(g) The advisory committee does not expire.

3.28 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 3.29 	$....... in fiscal year 2022 and $....... in fiscal year 2023 are appropriated from the general 
3.30 	fund to the commissioner of employment and economic development for purposes of the 
3.31 	headwaters community food and water economic resiliency program in Minnesota Statutes, 
3.32 	section 116J.544.