ST. PAUL -- The environment and outdoors scored big in an otherwise rough Minnesota legislative session.
A $4.6 billion budget deficit prompted spending cuts to most budget areas, including agencies dealing with the environment. But those budget reductions to ongoing state programs were overshadowed by approval of the first plan for spending constitutionally protected dollars on the outdoors, water cleanup projects and parks.
The money will be provided by a voter-approved 0.375 percent sales tax increase. The state will begin collecting the revenue July 1, lending urgency to the funding plan's passage this year.
"This is the one glimmering star of the legislative session," said Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, who served on a panel that recommended spending for wildlife habitat and conservation projects.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed the bill into law late Friday.
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Those differing proposals complicated negotiations and delayed an agreement until just hours before the end of the legislative session.
The budget package included spending for clean-water assessments of lakes, rivers and streams, and a prohibition on the sale of state recreation land in order to shore up the state budget.
Lawmakers and lobbyists gave far more attention to the dedicated funding package, which totaled nearly $397 million. The money will be split four ways:
$93 million to arts and cultural programs over two years. The outdoors funding plan has transparency, said Rep. Mary Murphy,
DFL-Hermantown, one of the dedicated funding negotiators.
Murphy said the challenge for lawmakers who put together the first dedicated funding package was to "start with something in state government that was absolutely brand new and to create something that would work for the people of the state for the next 25 years and generations to come after that."
