R-L: Greg Johanson, Duane Petrowiak, Tim
Peterson, Representative Bob Gunther, Wendell Rode
Legislative Days were held February 25-26, 2008 this year at Saint Paul.
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MARTIN SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT |
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923 North State Street, Suite 170, Fairmont, MN 56031 |
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(507) 235-6680 |
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FAX: (507) 235-8171 |
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R-L: Greg Johanson, Duane Petrowiak, Tim
Peterson, Representative Bob Gunther, Wendell Rode
Legislative Days were held February 25-26, 2008 this year at Saint Paul. |
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L-R: Tim Peterson &
Representative Bob Gunther
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L-R: Greg Johanson &
Representative Bob Gunther
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| Items discussed this year were: |
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Dedicated Funding Passed. The Legislature passed the Constitutional amendment for dedicated funding on February 14th. This bill does not go to the Governor for signature, but goes straight to the voters to be placed on the ballot in this November’s election. |
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For review, the amendment proposes to increase the sales tax by 3/8%, which raises approximately $276 million in FY11 dollars. The breakout is 33% for habitat, 33% for clean water, 14.25% for parks and trails and 19.75 % for cultural heritage, arts access and arts education. |
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The constitutional amendment will be called “Clean Water, Wildlife, Cultural Heritage and Natural Areas.” |
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The next phase is the campaign for passage. If it passes it will become effective July 1, 2009, and ends in 2034. |
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RIM Bonding. The bonding bill is quickly coming together. In the House, the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee assembled their recommendations after a grueling schedule of hearings. |
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The House recommendations include $42 million for RIM Reserve, with up to 10% being used for implementation. The language also allocates $2.4 million for flood relief for southeast Minnesota. The bill also allows for the over-seeding and harvesting of native prairie vegetation for use for energy production. |
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The House does not intend to fund RIM-CE as a separate item at this time. However, it appears the Senate may only provide $20 million for RIM Reserve and it is unclear how much, if any, they will do for RIM-CE. |
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It is expected that the House and Senate bonding bills will be in the final stages this week. |
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HF2536. Lanning Watershed Basin Management bill. The House Environment and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the Lanning bill on Tuesday, February 19th. Rep. Lanning presented the bill and a whole list of organizations presented testimony before the bill was amended and sent to the House Local and Metropolitan Government Committee. |
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The contents are the property of Martin SWCD. The District's goal is to provide quality and accurate information. All information within this site is subject to change and should only serve as a guideline for the District's services and procedures. For the most Current and accurate information please contact the District at (507) 235-6680. |
