House Floor Vote / April 28, 2017

HF707: House Legacy Omnibus Bill

The Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment created four new funds for conservation and the arts: the Outdoor Heritage Fund, the Clean Water Fund, the Parks and Trails Fund and the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. The Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council makes recommendations for the allocation of Outdoor Heritage Funds, and the Clean Water Council makes recommendations for the use of Clean Water Funds. There are also allocations for parks and trails and arts funding.

As amended, HF707 makes significant changes from the recommendations of the Clean Water Council (CWC) and the Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council (LSOHC).

HF707 cuts the LSOHC habitat acquisitions recommended for Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited and the MN DNR by over $6 million.

HF707 uses that freed up money to pay for a small portion of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Note, CREP has traditionally been funded primarily through bonding, yet as of the date of this floor vote, the House had not proposed any bonding bill.

HF707 also cuts about $22 million from the recommendations of the Clean Water Council. The cuts to the CWC’s recommendations include cutting $5 million from Surface and Drinking Water Protection & Restoration Grants, $3.5 million from Targeted Wellhead & Drinking Water Protection, and more.

HF707 uses that $22 million in cuts to pay for administrative costs of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs). Note, during the 2015 Legislative Session, legislators agreed that this exact SWCD administrative funding should come from the state’s general fund, not from the Clean Water Fund.

HF707 also contains two significant policy provisions. HF707 institutes a no net gain requirement whereby public land acquisitions using Legacy funding will require a relatively similar amount of public land to be sold to a private landowner. HF707 also requires the LSOHC to prioritize restoration and enhancement instead of habitat protection via acquisition.

*All legislators voted yes on this bill.

If you would like to let your Representative know what you think of this vote, you can send them a quick note by clicking HERE.

What Would Happen?

The Legacy bill - with significant changes from the recommendations of the respective citizen councils - is approved and the anti-acquisition policy language becomes law.

The Legacy bill is not approved and there are no changes to acquisition policy.

How The House Voted

The Legacy bill - with significant changes from the recommendations of the respective citizen councils - is approved and the anti-acquisition policy language becomes law.

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How The House Voted On This Issue

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May 13th, 2017 12:50 PM