As the Governor and Legislature prepare to close a $5-$6 billion state budget deficit between now and scheduled adjournment in May, one question is whether they will attempt to raid conservation funding. The estimated $250-$300 million annually in conservation funding approved by voters via the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment last November, by law, is supposed to be on top of traditional funding, not to replace it. Conservation Minnesota has created a website to help track what state officials are doing. The Governor’s budget release next week will be the starting point in a major test of how the Amendment is interpreted, and whether the intent of the voters is respected.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 5:52 pm by Dave Dempsey, Conservation Minnesota and is filed under Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.