Current Legislation
Dedicated Funding For Conservation and Cultural Heritage
2007 Session Overview
DEDICATED FUNDING FOR CONSERVATION AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
WHAT IS IT?
In November of 2008, on the 150th anniversary of our state, Minnesota voters will have an historic opportunity to make a nationally prominent move to preserve our environment and cultural heritage that will bring benefits for the next 25 years. They will be asked following question on the ballot:
“Clean Water, Wildlife, Cultural Heritage and Natural Areas”
“Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to dedicate funding to protect our drinking water sources; to protect, enhance, and restore our wetlands, prairies, forests, and fish, game, and wildlife habitat; to preserve our arts and cultural heritage; to support our parks and trails; and to protect, enhance, and restore our lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater by increasing the sales and use tax rate beginning July 1, 2009, by three-eighths of one percent on taxable sales until the year 2034?
Yes ……. No …….”
HOW WILL MINNESOTANS BENEFIT?
Minnesotans will ensure the preservation and restoration of our environment, clean water, parks and cultural heritage.
WHERE WILL THE MONEY GO?
If approved by the voters, this slight increase in the state sales tax would raise approximately $291 million per year, beginning to be available in 2010, of which 33 percent will go to an outdoor heritage fund to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands, prairies, forests, and habitat for fish, game and wildlife; 33 percent will go to a clean water fund to protect, enhance, and restore water quality in lakes, rivers, and streams and to protect groundwater, 19.75 percent for arts, arts education, arts access and to preserve Minnesota’s history and cultural heritage and 14.25 percent to support parks and trails of regional or statewide significance.
HOW WILL THE ARTS AND CULTURE BENEFIT?
If passed by the voters, this amendment will raise approximately $58 million annually for the arts, arts education, history and cultural heritage. The amount would increase slightly over time because of inflation. Funding to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils now is about $10.2 million/year, and would increase to about $30M /year in the first year, and then increase with inflation over the next 25 years. Arts organizations and activities in the state will benefit from a doubling or tripling of arts funding to help them serve Minnesotans statewide. Currently there is no direct state funding for arts education, separate from ordinary education system funding, and some portion of the funding will be designated for arts education. Money from this new pool will also potentially fund Minnesota’s historical societies.
HOW WILL IT BENEFIT LAND AND WATER CONSDERVATION AND PARKS?
Minnesotans value our quality of life, part of which is access to our beautiful outdoors. 80% of this bill will invest in our water, our land, and our future, ensuring clean water to drink, natural places to hike and swim and protecting forests and lakes where we can hear loons, see wildlife, and hunt and fish. Just like our cultural resources, these natural resources are fundamental to our quality of life in Minnesota.
WHY A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT? WHY NOW?
Passing this amendment would be a resounding statement of how we as Minnesotans value both the arts and environment, which are important pillars of our identity as a state. Protecting the arts in Minnesota’s constitution would be a groundbreaking move on the national level.
The arts need a stable, long term and protected source of funding. While the arts are a very tiny part of the state’s budget (currently about $10 million of the state’s roughly $35 billion budget), they are slashed every time the state has a budget deficit. In fact, we lost 32% of arts funding in a state deficit in 2003. Few other items in the state budgets were cut as much as the arts.
The state’s budget will get progressively tighter as the Boomer generation retires, posing increasing demand on the state’s pension plans, health and human services and social services. In addition, there are ever increasing demands on the state’s budget for education and transportation. Smaller budget items like environmental conservation and culture will be increasingly squeezed. Unless we act now with stable, dedicated funding, these areas could be left behind.
Minnesotans frequently use our constitution to take care of issues the legislature is not addressing. In fact, Minnesota’s constitution has been amended 118 times since it was adopted. It’s been amended 33 times since 1960, just about every year and a half on average in that period. Our constitution is a detailed, living document, much different than the national constitution that rarely is amended. In fact, Minnesota’s constitution was amended just last year to dedicate funds for transportation.
The legislature will still retain oversight over how the funds are spent for the environment and culture. The constitutional amendment pays for itself by creating its own revenue, so doesn’t take away from the rest of the budget. It also creates new accounts into which the new money will go, but leaves the disposition of the funds to the legislature, as long as they are spent for these purposes.
The legislature has committed to pass the bill that will make the ballot initiative a reality. Both the House and Senate passed the bill to the conference committee by large margins in the 2007 session. The conference committee agreed to the bill and sent it back to the floors. It did not make final passage merely because they ran out of time at the end of the legislative session. Leadership in both houses have vowed to pass it first thing in the next legislative session, which starts February 2008. It’s going to happen, and we need to get ready now. It will take more than a year and a half to create and implement a campaign to pass the amendment on the ballot in November of 2008. This is our one chance to pass dedicated funding for our cultural and outdoors heritage. We may never get this chance again.
CAN IT PASS?
Polling done by conservation groups shows public support to pass the ballot initiative in November 2008. Nationally, 75% of conservation measures have passed, most of which were tax increases. There have been 31 local and regional conservation measures proposed in Minnesota since 1998 of which 83% have passed.
2007 Session Overview
Session Ends With Many Arts Wins:
1. Arts Appropriation Gets Significant Increase
2. Constitutional Amendment Not Finished, But Will Pass Next Year
3. A Poet Laureate For Minnesota and Percent for Arts Program Restored
4. Statewide Smoking Ban Exempts Theater Performances
5. Nonprofits Can Sell Wine at Silent Auctions
6. $750,000 For State Sesquicentennial Means Grant Funds Available
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1. Arts Appropriation Gets Significant Increase…
Last night at midnight the legislative session finally ended. Although Gov. Pawlenty may veto some bills there is a general sense today that he will not call them back into special session, although that could change by the end of the week. The bill that included arts funding, HF122, passed both houses easily and is not controversial so is expected to be signed. Arts funding, formerly at $8.593 million per year, will be increased by $1.743 million to $10.336 million per year. As I’ve said before, this bill was MCA’s #1 priority and we are very pleased so far at the outcome. If the bill passes as it now stands, it means that starting with the state’s next fiscal year, more grant funds will be available from the Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB) and Regional Arts Councils in every Minnesota county. …Congratulations for all of your calls and letters helping to make this a reality!
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2. Constitutional Amendment Not Finished, But Will Pass Next Year
The conference committee on the Arts and Outdoors sales tax dedication met, efficiently came to agreement and sent the bill to the floors in plenty of time to be passed before session would end at midnight. Unfortunately, the bill was not passed by the House due to some last minute wrangling over the gas tax that would have funded transportation. Some legislators disagreed with an attempted veto override and filibustered, filling up the remaining floor time and shutting out time needed to pass this bill.
But all is not lost! The bill is still alive and a motion can be made in the first week of the next legislative session (probably in Feb., 2008), to rename conferees and pass it again. When the House and Senate conferees agreed to a compromise bill, there was cheering in the room, and afterwards out in the hallway all of the bill’s participants came together, congratulated each other and pledged to work together to pass in on the ballot in November, 2008.
You may recall that the bill would ask voters in 2008 to raise the state’s sales tax and dedicate the new money for fish and wildlife habitat, water preservation and the arts. It would add 3/8ths of one percent of the sales tax and generate about $291 million a year for 25 years. It says that “19.75 percent shall be deposited in the arts and cultural heritage fund and may be spent only for arts, arts education, and arts access and to preserve Minnesota’s history and cultural heritage.” With this language it would dedicate $58 million dollars annually to these items.
If passed by the voters, this will be a historic and nationally significant change in how Minnesota supports the arts and culture. Here’s the language that will appear on the ballot:
“Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to dedicate funding to protect our drinking water sources; to protect, enhance, and restore our wetlands, prairies, forests, and fish, game, and wildlife habitat; to preserve our arts and cultural heritage; to support our parks and trails; and to protect, enhance, and restore our lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater by increasing the sales and use tax rate beginning July 1, 2009, by three-eighths of one percent on taxable sales until the year 2034? Yes ……. No …….”
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3. A Poet Laureate For Minnesota…Percent for Arts Program Restored..
Thank you to Rep. Phyllis Kahn (D- Mpls.), who is responsible for the passage of these two important bills:
Minnesota has a Poet Laureate! The question is, will the Governor appoint one? He vetoed it the last time it was passed. Here’s the language from the bill:
“POET LAUREATE. (a) The position of poet laureate of the state of Minnesota is established. The Minnesota Humanities Commission must solicit nominations for the poet laureate appointment and must make recommendations to the governor. After receiving recommendations from the Minnesota Humanities Commission, the governor shall appoint a state poet laureate and conduct appropriate ceremonies to honor the person appointed. The person appointed as poet laureate continues to serve in this position until the governor appoints another person. (b) State agencies and officers are encouraged to use the services of the poet laureate for appropriate ceremonies and celebrations.”
The Restoration of the Percent for Art program also passed. The bill removed the $100,000 limit on arts projects funded through the program. The limit had been put on the program several years ago by an earlier legislature. The Percent for Art program acquires works of art to be exhibited in and around state buildings in areas regularly accessible to the general public. The program is administered by the Minnesota State Arts Board in cooperation with the Department of Administration. Percent for Art secures artwork in two ways: by purchasing existing work, or by commissioning artists to create new work especially for the state building or site.
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4. Statewide Smoking Ban Exempts Theater Performances
The Statewide Smoking Ban, signed by the Governor and now law, includes a provision that exempts smoking on stage as a part of a theatrical performance as long as notice is given to the audience beforehand. Here’s an interesting perspective on this provision from MCA Board Member Ann Spencer:
” An example of MCA’s effectiveness vis-a-vis other places: Just got back from visiting my daughter in Chicago this weekend. That city has enacted a smoking ban that, by its terms, also bans smoking in theatrical productions. The arts community did not see it coming and therefore did not argue against it. Therefore, the arts community was reduced to asking the City Council to write in an exemption after the ban had been passed. The City Council said “no dice.” There is no umbrella group keeping an eye on these things and advocating for the interests of the arts as MCA does here. So, no smoking in Chicago plays for the foreseeable future!”
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5. Nonprofits Can Sell Wine at Silent Auctions…
A provision to allow nonprofits to sell donated liquor at silent auctions passed as part of the Omnibus Liquor Bill and awaits the Governor’s signature. (Apparently, nonprofits that have been selling donated bottles of wine at silent auctions should have gotten a liquor permit. This will remove the need for a permit).
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6. $750,000 For State Sesquicentennial Means Grant Funds Available
The Sesquicentennial received $750,000 in one-time funding to celebrate our state’s 150th birthday. Arts and community organizations may be able to access that funding for performances and activities related to the state’s Sesquicentennial. Here’s the scoop:
“Minnesota Sesquicentennial planning underway; website is www.mn150years.org
“Minnesota will celebrate its Statehood Sesquicentennial (May 11, 2008) with events, programs and a grant initiative throughout 2008. The Sesquicentennial is a unique opportunity to connect all Minnesotans in commemorating our past and can be a catalyst to help build a thriving, innovative future. Planning has been underway since last year led by a cross section of government, nonprofit and private sector organizations. To learn more, go to www.mn150years.org. At the website, you can register your interest in the grant program, download the official logo,and register your community, organizational or business events and programs to help commemorate Minnesota’s 150th anniversary as a state. The website will also be a place to keep up-to-date on the progress towards the statewide events, such as Statehood Day, May 11, 2008 and a planned Minnesota Statehood Sesquicentennial Exposition later in May. There will be events and activities throughout the 2008 year, from January to December.”