Dispatch from the Capitol: A Legislative Update

Legislators will be heading home Friday for a 10-day Easter/Passover Break. We urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to reach out to them and encourage them to support parks and trails funding.

GMPT is sponsoring one piece of legislation and we need your help to move it forward. HF 1270/SF 689, authored by Rep. John Poston (R-Lake Shore) and Sen. Carrie Ruud (R-Breezy Point), would dedicate $5 million in bonding to the Outdoor Recreation and Local Trail Connections Grant Programs. These important grant programs provide matching funds for local parks and trails that are not eligible for Legacy funds. The programs are popular, but underfunded. You can learn more about the programs and why this legislation should be supported in this GMPT informational handout (which we also encourage you to share with your legislators).

Take advantage of the Easter/Passover break and reach out to your legislators while they are home in the district. Contact their offices (use the Who Represents Me? website to find your legislators and how to reach them) and find out if you can meet with them while in they are in the district. If they are not available to meet, send them an email or leave a phone message. When you reach out to them, please do the following:

• Ask them to support HF 1270/SF 689 to provide bonding money for local parks and trails grant programs.
• Tell them how these types of grant programs could benefit your community.
• Ask them to reach out to the chairs of the Capital Investment Committees, Rep. Dean Urdahl in the House and Sen. David Senjem in the Senate, and urge them to support these programs as well.

If you have any questions, please contact GMPT lobbyist Elizabeth Wefel at eawefel@flaherty-hood.com.