Paper trail: Everything you always wanted to know about the House Jobs Task Force

The House Jobs Task Force–a panel appointed by Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis) last summer to examine ways the Legislature might help to spur job growth and retention in the state–held its fourth and possibly final hearing last week. (House staffers say it’s possible the group could convene again prior to the February 4 start of session, though no further meetings are currently scheduled.)

The panel has released a handy, if lengthy, summary of the testimony and recommendations offered during its meetings. Over 70 people appeared before the task force at meetings in the Twin Cities and Milaca, Minnesota, and the panel ultimately distilled 41 separate recommendations that were presented to the group. Here’s the full summary of testimony and recommendations (21-page PDF) and here’s an excerpt featuring only the list of recommendations (3-page PDF), which include tax incentives, regulatory changes, and direct spending proposals.

Here’s an excerpt from the recommendations list:

State Direct Spending Programs
1. Provide more aid to local governments to prevent layoffs of local government employees and to limit cuts made to state government to avoid adding to unemployment.
2. Establish and fund a job subsidy program similar to the MEED program that the state operated in the 1980s.
3. Provide funding directly or through loan guarantees for programs like the Minnesota Initiative Fund.
4. Create or increase funding for workforce centers for the unemployed or underemployed and provide more state resources to help workers and laid-off workers make better informed decisions that affect their status under the unemployment compensation system.
5. Promote or publicize Minnesota businesses and their products.
6. Provide state funding for Project Energize.
7. Establish a state forgivable loan program for small manufacturers to purchase capital equipment, if the purchase will expand Minnesota employment.
8. Establish a state loan guarantee program to help expand the availability and affordability of credit for “vertical construction.”
9. Continue to invest in education so the state has a skilled workforce when the recession is over and demand to hire employees rebounds.
10. Provide state support for federal SBA loan programs (e.g., help with paying fees or fund higher maximums).
11. Increase state support to Small Business Development Centers.
12. Expand state deposits of its cash to include community banks, not just the highest
bidders, which tend to be exclusively money center banks.
13. Increase the size of the state bonding bill and focus as much money as possible on planned retrofitting, rehabilitation, and remodeling projects that can be undertaken very quickly.
14. Robustly fund the transportation portion of the capital bonding requests to continue construction as federal stimulus money for these types of projects begins to wind down.
15. Increase funding for the Growth Acceleration Program (GAP) that provides small business grants.
16. Expand use of recycling programs in state operations, including bonding bill projects, such as Wisconsin has adopted.
17. Expand funding for affordable housing, such as more nonprofit housing bonds and general obligation bonding for public housing.
18. Provide expanded funding for the Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure grant program and reject proposals to merge it with other programs or to make it a statewide program.
19. Provide programs targeted to small Asian businesses to help them cope with the recession through technical assistance and loans.
20. Expand funding for early childhood education.
21. Reform K-12 education system through meaningful testing (GRAD standard), alternative teacher certification, and more results-driven charter schools.
22. Provide R&D funding, grants, loans, and technical assistance for green businesses and green chemistry practices.