Legislative Update: Legislative session ends with more parks & trails funding

As we reported last month, the Legacy bill was one of the few budget bills that the Legislature passed before the end of session. We were pleased to see that Greater Minnesota Received 20% of the Legacy Parks and Trails Fund and that the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) received funding to continue its operations. Six projects, all belonging to GMPT members, had their deadlines for using their grants extended.

Finally, $41,000 in unused funding was canceled from previous budget cycles and reallocated for future grants to Greater Minnesota. There had been a proposal in the House to divert a portion of the Parks and Trails Legacy Fund to a non-profit organization (Wilderness Inquiry), but that effort failed.

The Legislature came back for a one-day special session on Monday, June 9. The Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy bill was probably the most consequential for GMPT and its members. A few highlights from that bill include:

• $1 million from the General Fund for local parks and trails grants under Minn. Stat. 85.019. This was a standing appropriation that GMPT helped establish several sessions ago. The DNR and the Governor had suggested eliminating it, but it will remain in place. 
• $1.2 million for regional parks and trails in Greater Minnesota from the Lottery in Lieu portion of the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF). This stems from our efforts last year to establish a non-legacy source of funding for Greater Minnesota regional parks and trails. 
• $4.769 million from the ENRTF, as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The individual park and trail recommendations, as well as the extensions in the bill, several of which benefited GMPT members, are also included. 
• The Community Grants program that had been created in 2023 was modified in a manner that should benefit GMPT members:
  • Grants under this new program must be expended across all regions of the state. 
  • Trail maintenance for state, regional, and local trails is now an authorized use of grant money. 
  • Aquatic Invasive Species Management is also an authorized use. 
  • The DNR must deliver a report by the end of the year with recommendations on how the grant program will be established, as well as the structure and membership of the Advisory Council for the Grants. 

To learn more about what happened during this session, please join us for the joint GMPT + GMPRTC meeting on Tuesday, July 29. Click here for registration information.

If you have any questions on these developments or our legislative work, you can reach out to GMPT Lobbyist Elizabeth Wefel at eawefel@flaherty-hood.com.