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Darby Nelson on Legacy Fund use

      Among other things the Minnesota Legislature is dealing with this sessioin are definitions that guide the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council in how it recommends spending of Legacy Funds. Last year at the end of the legislative session, the House slipped in a new set of definitions for the words such as "protect" and "enhance." This year, some legislators hope to remove those broader definitions and revert to the narrower definitions that the LSHOC had been working with.

      The Legacy Funds -- money generated by the state sales tax approved by voters in 2008 -- amounts to about $275 million a year for fish, game and wildlife habitat. That's a big pot of money, and some legislators have eyed it for uses that do not seem directly tied to habitat.

      Darby Nelson, one of the LSHOC council members, writes an occasional piece about issues surrounding Legacy Funds and the council's work. This week, he wrote about some misconceptions and misleading statements circulating about the council's recommendations for how Legacy Funds should be spent. It's worth a read at http://www.theamendment.org/track/news/?id=4606.

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