Minnesota lawmakers seem to be taking great care with appropriating dollars from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy fund, which was created by constitutional amendment. But there is always the temptation to dip into the pot of revenue to fund programs suffering because of the state's financial crisis. Also, some of the organizations seeking dollars seem to be outside the fund's stated purpose.
The money raised by the special sales tax is supposed to be spent on outdoors and arts projects. A spending plan from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council directs nearly $60 million in grants to wetlands, prairies, forests and habitat in 82 of the state's 87 counties. Thus far, it looks like a balanced, properly targeted approach.
Complaints about replacing existing conservation funds with Legacy fund dollars have been relatively muted, in part because the state faces a huge budget shortfall. If the special fund were not available, the impacts of those cuts would be more serious. However, the debate in St. Paul goes to the legalities of how Legacy money is used in the two-year budgeting process.
Watchdogs should be more watchful about the misuse of Legacy money for purposes that don't conform to the intent of the constitutional amendment, which is support for conservation and the arts. Some interpretations of intent raise eyebrows, such as money for Minnesota Public Radio to enhance a statewide radio news network.
Critics of the fund's management include the regular cast of characters, not the least of which is former Rep. Phil Krinkie, now president of the Minnesota Taxpayers League. Krinkie is exercised because organizations that lobbied for the amendment stand to benefit from Legacy fund grants. What's that? Krinkie apparently has fled the real world.
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It stands to reason that arts and outdoors organizations that worked to pass the amendment expected to benefit from its passage. It's not unlike businesses lobbying for a tax break and then signing up for the break when it becomes law. Nothing sinister about it. Nothing illegal.
Nonetheless, the Legacy fund is not a piggy bank for every organization that has some marginal relationship to the arts, the outdoors or environmental protection. Legislative oversight must be informed by a strict reading of the amendment's language.
Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum management and the newspaper's Editorial Board.
