News & Events

In the last week of the 2012 legislative session, the Minnesota Legislature passed a $496 million bonding bill with about $12.3 million for parks and trails. Although that was significantly less than proposals from the DNR or the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota, only a couple of weeks earlier it had seemed likely that there would be no bonding bill at all.

Both the Minnesota House and Senate are expected to vote Monday, May 7, on an omnibus bonding bill. Leadership in the House and Senate with input from Gov. Mark Dayton are working on drafting a bill this weekend that can pass both chambers.

Last Thursday, April 19, the Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee sent to the House Floor a $434 million omnibus bonding bill (HF1752) that includes $221 million to restore and repair the state Capitol building—but that has stripped out all money for parks and trails (and many other projects) from the initial House Omnibus Bonding Bill.

The Omnibus Legacy Bill (SF2493) has passed both the House and the Senate and likely will go into conference committee next week. The Senate bill contains language removing the grant matching requirement and a limit on maximum grant amounts for grants to Greater Minnesota parks and trails. The House bill doesn’t have that language.