Legacy committee approves $107 million appropriations bill

What Rep. Dean Urdahl (R-Grove City) called “vehicle” legislation during last week’s House Legacy Funding Finance Committee, picked up its $107 million passenger Monday when HF3829 began to take its final shape as the Outdoor Heritage Fund appropriations bill.

Sponsored by Urdahl, HF3829 originally contained language requiring applicants for money from the Parks and Trails or the Arts and Cultural Heritage funds to disclose whether a given program or project had been funded since 2006 and, if so, how that was done.

However, the committee adopted a delete-all amendment Monday that replaced the contents of HF3829 with language Urdahl said was identical to HF2611 – which was this year’s original OHF appropriations bill that was approved by the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee in March.

HF3829, which also includes its original provisions, was approved and referred as amended to the House Ways and Means Committee. The companion, SF2527, is sponsored by Sen. Tom Saxhaug (DFL-Grand Rapids). It awaits action by the Senate Finance Committee.

The House bill would appropriate $107.78 million for several dozen projects. The proposed OHF appropriations by subdivision are:

• Wetlands             $31.06 million
• Prairies                 $31.0 million
• Habitat                 $29.14 million
• Forests                 $16.31 million
• Admin                   $275,000

The Outdoor Heritage Fund is one of four funds created by the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment approved by voters in 2008. That amendment increased the state sales tax by three-eighths of 1 percent until 2034 to provide a dedicated revenue stream for Minnesota’s natural and cultural resources. It requires OHF money “only be spent to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands, prairies, forest and habitat for fish, game, and wildlife.”

In addition to a couple of technical amendments that were adopted, the committee also voted to adopt an amendment offered by Rep. Steve Green (R-Fosston) that would require recipients of OHF appropriations, who want to use that money to acquire land, to receive approval of the sale from the counties where that land is located. 

“Because it is property that affects our livelihood in the way of county services and also where our people are going to live, we feel we should have a say in whether or not it’s sold,” Green said.