HF 2583

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 03/03/2022 06:37pm

A bill for an act
relating to agriculture; appropriating money for plant-based food research and
development; requiring a report.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. new text begin PLANT-BASED FOOD RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.
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new text begin (a) The commissioner of agriculture must establish and administer a plant-based food
research and development pilot grant program to provide competitive grants to eligible
entities to support research and development projects to accelerate the scaleup and
commercialization of industry-advancing plant-based food products.
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new text begin (b) Eligible grant activities under this section include:
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new text begin (1) research to develop new crop varietals;
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new text begin (2) the development of plant protein processing innovations, including biological methods
such as fermentation and enzymatic treatment for improving protein enrichment and
functionality;
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new text begin (3) end food product formulation and manufacturing;
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new text begin (4) the design of processing equipment for use in alternative protein production;
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new text begin (5) coproduct valorization; and
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new text begin (6) the evaluation of existing agricultural processing byproducts as alternative protein
sources.
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new text begin (c) Grant applications must be submitted to the commissioner in the form prescribed by
the commissioner. To be eligible for a grant under this section, the applicant must provide
sufficient proof to the commissioner demonstrating that each state grant dollar will be
matched with a nonstate dollar. Acceptable matching funds include nonstate contributions
that an entity has received for a specific plant-based food research and development project
and that have not been used to match previous grants.
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Sec. 2. new text begin APPROPRIATION; REPORT.
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new text begin (a) $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2022 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of agriculture for purposes of section 1. This is a onetime appropriation and
is available until June 30, 2023.
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new text begin (b) No later than January 15, 2024, the commissioner of agriculture must report grant
activity and program outcomes to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over agriculture
policy and finance.
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