Brainerd Dispatch- News Article
Published November 11, 2008

Pawlenty jobs plan has look of green
By Martiga Lohn- AP Writer

Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota

ST. PAUL, MN - Anticipating a painful deficit, Gov. Tim Pawlenty is betting that a down payment in the renewable energy field will pay off.

The Republican governor said Monday that he will ask the Democrat-controlled Legislature to approve tax credits and other incentives for companies that bring green jobs to Minnesota. He wants $3.65 million worth of tax breaks for the upcoming two-year budget period and another $82 million between 2011 and 2014.

"If the economy continues in its awful state, and it looks like it's going to for the foreseeable future, it will be more important than ever to do things that will try to encourage investment in job growth in Minnesota," Pawlenty said at a Capitol news conference. " And for a very small investment in money, these proposals will do that."

Minnesota has lost 19,000 jobs in the past 12 months, and officials predict the state could see another 30,000 jobs disappear in 2009. The state's jobless rate was 5.9 percent in September, compared with a 6.5 percent national unemployment rate.

The proposal would dangle tax exemptions in front of companies that focus on renewable energy, produce green components and manufacture parts that can be used to support green energy.

Pawlenty is proposing the following:

• Qualifying renewable energy projects would receive an array of tax breaks in a green version of the Job Opportunity Building Zones program. JOBZ is designed to spur job growth in economically distressed regions of Minnesota. Green JOBZ would be open to qualifying renewable energy businesses anywhere in the state for up to 12 years, costing the state $3.65 million in the 2010-2011 budget years and another $6.6 million in 2012-2013.
• Investors who park their money in regional investment funds - which help startup companies - could get tax credits totaling $20 million over four years. Half would be focused on renewable energy businesses.
• Another tax credit would offer insurance companies $60 million for putting money into companies with fewer than 100 employees. Half would have to go to green ventures.
• Utilities that substitute bio-methane for natural gas or use solar power could get credit for conserving energy under the state's policy goals.