Omnibus lands bill approved by environment committee

More than a dozen parcels of state-owned land are one step closer to sale or conveyance after the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee approved the omnibus lands bill Thursday.

Sponsored by Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake), HF1429 authorizes the state to sell certain parcels of property as well as the sale and conveyance of other land. 

Because the bill carries a fiscal note, it now moves to the House Ways and Means Committee. That note concerns three parcels of land included at the request of the Department of Natural Resources. Two of these are less than an acre in size, but the third is 81.4 acres located in Pine County.

This is the site of the former St. Croix Boys Camp that Kathy Lewis, DNR assistant commissioner, said the state has been trying to sell for a number of years. The price been lowered through the years, and Lewis said there are interested buyers.

“The bill is giving us the authority to sell at less than appraised value,” Lewis said.

The estimated revenue from the sale of these lands in the fiscal note is $212,000, and the proceeds would be deposited in the Land Acquisition Account, which was established by the Legislature in 1984 to help the state acquire natural resource lands. 

The committee amended the bill to add four parcels of tax-forfeited land. Two of these properties are in Hennepin County, the others are in Cass County and Hubbard County.

The companion, SF1406, is sponsored by Sen. Foung Hawj (DFL-St. Paul) and awaits action by the Senate.

What’s in the bill?

The following are selected bills that have been incorporated in part or in whole into the omnibus lands bill:

• HF138 – Sundin: Carlton County
• HF214 – Persell: Beltrami County
• HF295 – Sundin: Pine County     
• HF447 – Lueck: Crow Wing County          
• HF527 – Dill: St. Louis County     
• HF547 – Pelowski: Winona County
• HF816 – Dill: St. Louis County
• HF1082 – Schoen: Washington County
• HF1309 – Gunther: Martin County
• HF1650 – Dill: Lake County
• HF1666 – Simonson: St. Louis County
• HF1773 – Dill: Lake County
• HF1840 – Wills: Dakota County
• SF323 – Schmit: Goodhue County