Committee adopts amendments to LCCMR bill, adds community‑grant surety bond requirement and lays bill over

Representative Jordan moved House File 3426, the LCCMR bill covering projects funded by the Legislative‑Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. The committee adopted a committee A10 amendment intended to add guardrails for an emerging issues account and then considered an author A11 amendment.

Representative Jordan and other members described A10 as tightening eligibility and preventing the emerging issues account from becoming an additional general pot for late applications. Co‑chair Heintzeman thanked members for work on the amendment and called it a near‑consensus item; the committee adopted A10 by voice vote.

The A11 amendment would add funding for community grants and require a surety bond for grant recipients, with recipients required to "submit proof of the security bond in the amount or form as requested by the commissioner." Representative Jordan urged support for the program and described strong accountability measures, while members cautioned they were still working with the auditor to finalize guardrails. After discussion and a brief recess to regroup, the committee adopted A11 and then laid the bill over for further work to complete one outstanding section and to incorporate auditor guidance.

Representative Jordan closed by noting the bill contains many projects across districts and urged members to remember the LCCMR bill offers funding possibilities for local research and projects. The committee laid the amended bill over for action at a later date.