Flood relief package gets Senate backing; up next in House

Updated 3 p.m. | Posted 1:19 p.m.

The state Senate Thursday unanimously passed a disaster relief bill to help cover the cost of damage from heavy rains and flooding last June.

The House is expected to pass the $17 million bill on Monday and send it to Gov. Mark Dayton, who has said he will sign it.

The bill will help counties match federal disaster relief money and cover the cost of fixing some damage that didn't qualify for federal aid, said state Sen. Vicki Jensen, DFL- Owatonna, the bill's sponsor.

In her southern Minnesota district, she said some of the work done after earlier disasters protected some homes from being flooded in the 2014 storms.

"A lot of the damage that we had was on ag land, but some of the projects really held up well and protected homeowners from damage that they would have had otherwise," she said.

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