Every two years the Minnesota Legislature must pass budget bills to fund many of the state agencies. Agencies like the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency that manage the environment and natural resources are usually funded in an Environment and Natural Resource Finance and Policy Omnibus bill. During the 2019 regular legislative session, a budget bill was not agreed upon before mandatory adjournment. The Governor then called a special session on May 24, 2019, and SF7 was introduced to fund the state’s environmental and natural resource agencies and to implement new policies relevant to those agencies. While all of the spending and policy changes pushed the bill to almost 200 pages in length, a few notable new policies were included in the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Omnibus Bill, including:
No Child Left Inside Grant Program – Created a new program to provide funding for outdoor environmental, ecological, and other natural-resource-based education and recreation programs serving youth.
Watercraft AIS surcharge increase – Increased from $5.00 to $10.60 the watercraft registration fee aquatic invasive species surcharge that will fund grants for local communities to manage AIS problems and create additional funding for AIS research at the University of Minnesota
School Trust Lands – technical changes were made to the statutes that regulate the permanent school trust lands fund that are in part preparation for the hybrid swap anticipated in the future.
Lawns to Legumes – the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) will now oversee a program called Lawns to Legumes where the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) will assist homeowners in converting traditional residential lawns into pollinator friendly habitat.
Both the Minnesota House and Senate passed identical versions of the bill and on May 30, 2019 the bill was signed into law by Governor Walz.
What Would Happen?
A "Yes" vote means - the Omnibus Bill passes and the state’s environmental and natural resource agencies are funded and programs like "No Child Left Inside," "Lawns to Legumes," the AIS watercraft surcharge and the School Trust lands are created and improved.
A "No" vote means - the Omnibus Bill does not pass and the state’s environmental and natural resource agencies are not funded and programs like "No Child Left Inside," "Lawns to Legumes," the AIS watercraft surcharge and the School Trust lands are not created or improved.
How The Senate Voted
A "Yes" vote means - the Omnibus Bill passes and the state’s environmental and natural resource agencies are funded and programs like "No Child Left Inside," "Lawns to Legumes," the AIS watercraft surcharge and the School Trust lands are created and improved.
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