Cooperative Network is the leading advocate for cooperative interests and plays a significant role in shaping legislation and regulations that positively impact cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Our diverse membership has allowed us to build statewide relationships and build a reputation as a trusted, non-partisan advisor. Some of the issues our legislative team has engaged in are listed below.

ACCURATE LABELS ACT

Federal legislation would amend the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act due to a growing number of states and cities that have begun mandating product warning labels. The goal of the updated language is to provide access to clear, accurate and meaningful product information. Cooperative Network showed its support for this bi-partisan legislation in communications with members of both the Minnesota and Wisconsin delegations.

CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS

When the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) proposed significantly increasing capital requirements for large business-lending credit unions, it received more than 2,000 opposition letters. Cooperative Network signed onto one of those letters and directly submitted another on behalf of Minnesota and Wisconsin cooperatives asking the NCUA to reconsider the proposed rule’s effect on rural businesses.

COOP HEALTH CARE OPTION FOR FARMERS

Cooperative Network led legislative efforts to allow for the establishment of an agriculture cooperative health care coverage option that was signed into law with strong bi-partisan support. As a result, there are now two health care cooperative options available to farmers and their families in Minnesota.

DAIRY INNOVATION HUB

Thanks to the advocacy of Cooperative Network and the Wisconsin State Agricultural Coalition, Wisconsin will create a Dairy Innovation Hub within the University of Wisconsin System with locations at UW-Madison, UW-Platteville, and UW-River Falls. The Dairy Hub is intended to draw top dairy farming researchers to the state, and ultimately help dairy farmers grow their businesses and increase profitability.

RURAL BROADBAND

Cooperative Network believes that rural citizens and businesses should have equal access to broadband and supports policies that encourage and facilitate new investment as well as continuous re-investment in broadband infrastructure and networks. Thanks to the lobbying efforts of Cooperative Network and other organizations, Minnesota included $40 million during the 2019 session for Border-to-Border broadband grants and Wisconsin added $48 million to its Broadband Expansion Grant program for 2019-2020. At the same time, Cooperative Network is working with a coalition of groups to exempt property used to provide broadband service to rural or underserved areas from the telephone company tax as a way to spur further investment.