Voters overwhelmingly back Minnesota lottery spending on environmental projects for another 25 years
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Tens of millions of dollars of Minnesota’s lottery proceeds will continue to be funneled into environmental research and natural resource protection, after voters overwhelmingly backed a constitutional amendment that renews the dedicated funding stream for the state’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund for another 25 years.
The vote assures that 40 percent of lottery proceeds will continue to be used for research on water quality and invasive species, efforts to acquire land and restore habitat, projects to build trails and improve parks, and for environmental education and outreach efforts.
More than 77 percent of voters approved the amendment, which has earned remarkably consistent levels of support over the years.
It’s the third time the state’s voters have backed the amendment. More than three-quarters of Minnesotans voted to create the trust fund in 1988. It was re-upped 10 years later by a similar margin.
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The vote for the constitutional amendment faced a higher bar than candidates on the ballot. It needed 50 percent of all voters to approve the ballot question. Leaving the question blank constituted a “No” vote.
Backers of the measure worried it could fly under the radar of voters preoccupied with the consequential and divisive presidential race.
But those fears proved unfounded. Around five out of every six voters who filled out the question answered “Yes.” About 200,000 voters left the question blank.
Since 1991, more than $1 billion in lottery proceeds have been funneled into more than 1,700 projects around the state.
This year $79.6 million was withdrawn from the fund to pay for 101 projects, including an effort to expand fishing opportunities in urban areas, a project to assess the health of the state’s elk herd, the continuation of a study into the lives of wolves around Voyageurs National Park and a project to map the state's groundwater.
The lottery money has also paid for years of research into some of Minnesota’s most complex environmental problems, including so-called “forever chemicals” such as PFAS.
The projects are vetted by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), which makes funding recommendations to the state Legislature. The commission has recommended a record $103 million in funding for 126 projects next year.
This year’s amendment includes a new wrinkle. It increases the amount of money that can be spent from the fund each year by an additional 1.5 percent, from 5.5 to 7 percent.
The estimated $20 million to $25 million annually would be used to fund a new community grant program designed to be accessed by smaller organizations that serve underserved communities — groups that advocates say have historically had a difficult time winning grants through the LCCMR process.
A new 11-member advisory council, overseen by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, would be created to recommend which projects to fund.
The amendment also includes a new provision that blocks the spending of trust fund proceeds to help pay for wastewater treatment plants.