The Legislature has readied draft legislation for a one-day, disaster relief special session.
Lawmakers are expecting to return to St. Paul on Sept. 9 to approve the $4.5 million in grants to communities damaged by the June wind and rain storms. The grants make up the state's match to federal disaster relief.
Gov. Mark Dayton and legislative leaders last month agreed that they would all sign off on final language for that disaster relief bill on Friday and that no other legislation or amendments would be considered.
By Wednesday, drafts of that disaster relief legislation had begun circulating among caucus leaders
Senate Finance Committee chairman Dick Cohen, DFL-St. Paul, said he did not know of any objections to the draft, which he expected to sponsor.
The draft is brief.
Only two pages, it outlines that the state would spend $4.5 million to match the federal funds for the severe storms and flooding that between June 20 and June 26 and that the state money would come from cancelling previous disaster relief funds that turned out not to be needed.
It also re-appropriates $219,000 already set aside earlier this year for disaster relief to help the southwest Minnesota counties of Nobles and Rock and the city of Worthington recover from the April winter storm.
