Nearly $50 million in appropriations for projects meant to benefit the state’s natural resources were approved by the House Friday as it voted 110-19 to pass HF2993/SF2963*.
The amended bill now goes back to the Senate, where it was initially passed 50-10 May 3.
Sponsored by Rep. Tom Hackbarth (R-Cedar) and Sen. Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Mpls), the bill contains appropriations from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, which was established in 1998 to use state lottery and investment income to fund natural resources projects.
The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources approved a package of 89 projects last fall, but not all of them remain in the bill passed by the House. Several were removed and others added during the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee’s March hearing on the bill.
Much of the discussion Friday revolved around some of those same provisions.
An amendment offered by Rep. John Persell (DFL-Bemidji) that sought to restore the bill to the original provisions approved by the LCCMR was defeated 71-59.
“These are some pretty important projects,” Persell said.
Hackbarth disagreed.
“We did make a number of changes in the bill,” he said. “I think the changes were made for the better.”
Several amendments were adopted during the Floor debate. They include: