Pollution Control Commissioner Resigns Ahead Of Confirmation Vote In Minnesota Senate

By Ricardo Lopez, Minnesota Reformer

July 6, 2021

Minnesota’s top pollution regulator resigned her post on Tuesday, preempting a Senate confirmation vote on her nomination after Republicans said they planned to fire her after months-long disagreement over new car emission standard rules.

Laura Bishop, who served as commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for the past two and a half years, had been a top Senate target for removal since at least January.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, said he had shared his concerns with Gov. Tim Walz’s administration over the agency’s move to implement so-called Clean Car rules, modeled after California, which would revise emission standards and require carmakers to make more electric vehicles available for sale in Minnesota.

Republicans have long maintained that regulation of emission standards and electric vehicle requirements were not part of the agency’s purview, arguing it was sidestepping lawmakers. In May, however, an administrative law judge ruled the MPCA had the power to adopt the proposed rules and that they “are needed and reasonable.”

In a statement, Bishop criticized Republicans for her ouster. “It has been an honor to serve Minnesotans in this role,” she said. “However, I will not allow the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to be politicized. The work is too important.”

Walz in a statement said he was “extremely disappointed in the Republicans in the Senate who are choosing to use taxpayer dollars to play partisan games and try to politicize an agency charged with protecting Minnesotans from pollution because they refuse to acknowledge the science of climate change.”

He added: “I am proud of her decision to stand firm in her beliefs that climate change is real and to not bend her policies and values in order to get through this disingenuous confirmation process.”

Deputy Commissioner Peter Tester will serve as temporary commissioner of the agency, the governor’s office said.

Gazelka on Tuesday defended the Senate’s decision to hold informational hearings on a half dozen appointments on Tuesday, saying Republicans did not bring them up sooner because of the difficulty of budget negotiations.

“It was difficult to do anything,” he said.

Last summer, Senate Republicans ousted two commissioners: former Commerce Commissioner Steve Kelley and former Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Nancy Leppink.

The new commissioners for those agencies “are much better to work with,” Gazelka said.

The Senate voted to confirm two appointments: Mark Phillips, commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, who was confirmed on a voice vote. Aaron Vande Linde was also confirmed on a voice vote as Director of the Minnesota Office of School Trust Lands.

Republicans led informational hearings on three other appointments: Dean Compart, as president of the Board of Animal Health; Jennifer Ho, commissioner of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency; and Sarah Strommen for Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..