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switching improvements. The Commerce Commissioner must issue <br />an order by March 15, 2022. <br /> <br />- The ECO Act took effect May 26, the day following the Governor’s signature. <br /> <br />B.2021 First Special Session <br /> <br />The following bills from the 2021 First Special Session are of interest to municipal utilities <br />and were signed into law by the Governor: <br /> <br />- Chapter 3 – Omnibus Agriculture Bill <br />HF 8 Rep. Westrom <br />SF 25 Sen. Sundin <br /> <br />o Article 2 – appropriates $350,000 in both FY 2022 and FY 2023 for <br />Border-to-Border Broadband. Request had been $70 million for the <br />biennium. <br /> <br />- Chapter 4 – Omnibus Commerce, Climate and Energy Bill <br />HF 8 Rep. Stephenson (and Long) <br />SF 19 Sen. Dahms <br /> <br />o Article 4 – Renewable Development Account (RDA) Appropriations. <br />Assorted expenditures from the RDA, including: $2.5 million for the <br />Clear Energy Career Training Pilot Program; $5.5 million to Mountain <br />Iron EDA for city owned solar module plant; $500,000 in both FY 2022 <br />and FY 2023 for third-party evaluation of proposals for RDA funds; <br />$2.4 million in FY 2022 and $1.2 million in FY 2023 for microgrid <br />research by University of St. Thomas; $1.242 million in FY 2022 to <br />fund solar on State colleges and universities; $10 million in FY 2023 to <br />U of M Board of Regents for research and development of energy <br />storage systems utilizing hydrogen and ammonia from renewable or <br />other clean energy sources; $5 million in FY 2022 to fund State <br />building energy conservation improvements; $219,000 in FY 2022 and <br />$88,000 in FY 2023 for administrative revolving loan program for <br />energy conservation in State buildings, and establishing a base of <br />$90,000 for FY 2024 and $92,000 in FY 2025. <br /> <br />o Article 8, section 2 – establishes a State Building Energy Improvement <br />Conservation Loans Program. <br /> <br />o Article 8, section 3 – establishes a Closed Landfill Solar <br />Redevelopment and Reuse Account to capture revenue from the lease <br />of PCA managed closed landfills by utilities for solar energy <br />generating systems. Funds must be used to facilitate reuse and <br />redevelopment in solar projects located at a closed landfill. <br /> <br />6 <br /> <br />112 <br />