1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to workforce development; appropriating money for grants for meat cutting 
1.3 	and butchery training.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. MEAT CUTTING GRANTS; APPROPRIATION.
 1.6 	(a) $375,000 in fiscal year 2024 is appropriated from the workforce development fund 
1.7 	to the commissioner of employment and economic development to provide grants to 
1.8 	secondary career and technical education programs for the purpose of offering instruction 
1.9 	in meat cutting and butchery. This is a onetime appropriation. Notwithstanding Minnesota 
1.10 	Statutes, section 16A.28, any unencumbered balance does not cancel at the end of fiscal 
1.11 	year 2024 and is available in fiscal year 2025. Grants may be used for costs, including but 
1.12 	not limited to:
1.13 	(1) equipment required for a meat cutting program;
1.14 	(2) facility renovation to accommodate meat cutting; and
1.15 	(3) training faculty to teach the fundamentals of meat processing.
1.16 	(b) A grant recipient may be awarded a grant of up to $75,000 and may use up to ten 
1.17 	percent of the grant for faculty training.
1.18 	(c) Priority may be given to applicants who are coordinating with meat cutting and 
1.19 	butchery programs at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institutions or with local 
1.20 	industry partners.
2.1 	(d) By January 15, 2025, the commissioner must report to the chairs and ranking minority 
2.2 	members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over agriculture finance, education 
2.3 	finance, and workforce development finance a list of the grants made under this section by 
2.4 	county and note the number and amount of grant requests not fulfilled. The report may 
2.5 	include additional information as determined by the commissioner, including but not limited 
2.6 	to information regarding the outcomes produced by these grants. If additional grants are 
2.7 	awarded under this section that were not covered in the report due by January 15, 2025, the 
2.8 	commissioner must submit an additional report to the chairs and ranking minority members 
2.9 	of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over agriculture finance, education finance, 
2.10 	and workforce development finance regarding all grants issued under this section by 
2.11 	November 1, 2025.
2.12 	(e) The Department of Employment and Economic Development may enter into an 
2.13 	interagency agreement with the Department of Agriculture, including agreements to transfer 
2.14 	funds, to administer the program.

2.15 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.