The omnibus commerce, climate, and energy finance bill (HF 6) passed by the Minnesota legislature and signed into law by Gov. Walz included important provisions to jumpstart Buy Clean/Buy Fair in the state. Buy Clean is a way to guarantee that products and materials that are used for public projects—like infrastructure improvements—are the cleanest and most sustainable available. The provision included in the bill set up a tracking system for the state government to catalog the emissions of various products purchased with taxpayer dollars. Following the signing of the bill, the BlueGreen Alliance released a statement from Minnesota Regional Program Manager Bree Halverson:

“We’re excited that a study that will show how Buy Clean/Buy Fair policies can ensure we’re spending taxpayer dollars wisely was included. This is an important step forward to making sure Minnesota buys materials to repair and modernize our infrastructure that are made in a more climate friendly way and will level the playing field for manufacturers that invest in pollution controls and treat workers fairly.

“We want to thank the Reps. Lislegard, Long, Stephenson, and Hornstein and Sen. Senjem for their work on this. We look forward to fully implementing Buy Clean in our state in the near future.”