Yesterday, the Minnesota House passed HF1079, the omnibus legacy finance bill on a bipartisan 79-52 vote.
In Mike Cook's lede in House passes omnibus legacy bill at Session Daily, we read:
Minnesotans undertook a unique experiment in 2008 when they voted to have the statewide sales tax raised by 0.375%, with the proceeds committed to clean water, the preservation of natural areas, enhancing parks and trails, and funding the arts and cultural programming. The agreement was to give it 25 years and see how it went.
Now the state is halfway through that experiment, and how those tax proceeds should be allocated is the focus of HF1079, the omnibus legacy finance bill. Sponsored by Rep. Leon Lillie (DFL-North St. Paul), it would provide $385.5 million in appropriations for fiscal year 2022 to the four funds created by the Legacy Amendment.
After 2 1/2 hours of debate, the bill, as amended, was passed 79-52 the House Thursday evening. It now moves to the Senate where Sen. Carrie Ruud (R-Breezy Point) is the sponsor.
“This goes all around Minnesota and serves it well,” Lillie said. “We’re in the 13th year of the 25-year deal, and we really challenged people to look at their programs. I think it’s a bill that we all can be proud of.” . . .
Down column there's this:
Rep. Paul Anderson (R-Starbuck) and Rep. Josh Heintzeman (R-Nisswa) were both unhappy with less money for fiscal year 2023 being given to soil and water conservation districts. Whether those bodies are appropriate targets for legacy funding is an annual controversy. Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul) defended the choice.
“The legacy funds are not base funding,” he said. “They’re supposed to be something special above that. In 2019, a large amount was taken from the funds for [soil and water conservation districts], but that wasn’t what the funds were for. We believe what we have here is something that fulfills the constitutional role of the Clean Water Fund. … We have done more to protect water than any other state. But spending the money and counting the acres is not enough. We need outcomes of clean drinking water, clean ground water.”
There's more than that. Here's the video of Hansen's full remarks:
Read the full coverage in House passes omnibus legacy bill.
Here's the Minnesota House Information Services YouTube of the full debate:
Photo: Rep. Leon Lillie, chair of the House Legacy Finance Committee, watches the vote total for the omnibus legacy finance bill on a large TV set up in the back of the House Chamber for visual aid during largely remote floor sessions. Photo by Paul Battaglia/Session Daily.
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