Today the Minnesota House and Senate Legacy committees published a final agreement for the Legacy Amendment bill. Senator Carrie Ruud (R-Breezy Point), chair of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Legacy Finance Committee, today released the following statement regarding the agreement:

“This is a comprehensive bill that focuses on Minnesota’s Clean Water, the Outdoor Heritage Fund, Parks and Trails, and Arts and Cultural Heritage, and I’m glad that the Senate and the House committees were able to come to an agreement that prioritizes maintaining these resources. Our team and committee worked very hard on this bill, and for the first time in history, we passed the bill’s original language off the senate floor with a unanimous bipartisan vote. Though members from the House attempted to insert policy provisions into this bill, I’m glad their members eventually came to the table to negotiate, and the agreement released today was the result of hard work from both legislative bodies. I’m very proud of the work we were able to do to get an agreement that follows the Legacy Amendment in the Constitution.”

In 2008, Minnesotans voted to amend the State Constitution to include the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment (referred to informally as the Legacy Amendment). This amendment allocated three-eighths of one percent of the sales tax to contribute to four funds that aim to protect drinking water sources, restore and enhance habitats across the state, preserve arts and cultural heritage, support parks and trails, and protect and enhance lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater.