Environmental Trust Fund on the Ballot This Year
by Senator Steve Green
The legislature recently passed a bill that puts a question regarding the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) on the 2024 ballot:
“Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to protect drinking water sources and the water quality of lakes, rivers, and streams; conserve wildlife habitat and natural areas; improve air quality; and expand access to parks and trails by extending the transfer of proceeds from the state-operated lottery to the environment and natural resources trust fund, and to dedicate the proceeds for these purposes?”
More or less, this question asks if voters want to extend the process of lottery funding going into the trust fund. Currently 40% of lottery proceeds go to the account and this question will ask if voters would approve of a constitutional amendment that reauthorizes this process for 25 years. It will also ask voters if the amount of funds that can be spent per biennium should increase from 5.5% to 7%. If the constitutional amendment is defeated, this revenue stream will go back into the state’s general fund. There is still $1.9 billion dollars accessible in the fund along with several patents and licenses for future funding.
Though this has been a popular initiative in the past, things have gotten out of control, and this ballot question goes far beyond its original bounds. The Legislative Citizens Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) already decides what projects are funded through the ENRTF, and the legislature approves the projects that are picked. This new iteration would take the legislature completely out of the equation. Legislators would have no say. That in turn takes the people’s voice away. This new process would prevent funding from going to important projects like water pollution, city water discharge, public water issues, and so on. Those are the exact issues that should be addressed with LCCMR funds. They will not be considered in this new process. This is a shameful change that does a disservice to communities in need.
The last two times this question has been posed to voters, the reauthorization has been for 10 years at a time. This new version will reauthorize it for 25 years. That’s 25 years people do not get a direct say in what their taxpayer dollars go to. That means the next time people will get a say in this issue at all is in 2050.
I want to remind folks that those who serve on the LCCMR are appointed – they are not elected. Many have their own agenda. The way I see it, this is just another way to circumvent the voice of the people and consolidate power in the hands of unelected bureaucrats. Once again, this is yet another way of eliminating transparency in the process. By taking the legislature out of the process entirely, the people get no say in selected projects. Voices are being ignored. This is wrong and it should not be the standard when it comes to spending taxpayer dollars.
I want to be clear: I do not support the amendment in the current form it is written, and it is worth noting that voting against it is NOT an elimination of the LCCMR or the Fund. If this measure does not pass, the Trust Fund remains, but money will just go to the general fund instead. As it stands, there is currently about $1.9 billion in the fund. This new change would limit public input, eliminate transparency in the project selection process, and decrease oversight. Minnesotans deserve better.
