House passes $777 million omnibus Legacy finance bill

This year’s omnibus legacy bill does what it has traditionally done by appropriating money to four funds mentioned in the Legacy Amendment.

How some of that money would get distributed is a bit different in some areas.

The House passed HF2563, the $776.9 million omnibus legacy bill on a 115-19 vote Friday, sending it to the Senate.

The Legacy Amendment increases the state sales tax by three-eighths of 1% from July 1, 2009 until 2034. That additional revenue is dedicated to four funds: 33% for the Clean Water Fund; 33% for the Outdoor Heritage Fund; 19.75% for the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund; and 14.25% for the Parks and Trails Fund.

“I can say that every single one of your districts is made better by the work funded in this bill,” said Rep. Samantha Vang (DFL-Brooklyn Center), the bill sponsor. “There are projects being funded in this bill to protect your constituents’ water, to improve habitat in your district, to build significant regional parks that your constituents will enjoy and support your communities, arts and history.”

Rep. Roger Skraba (R-Ely) concurs. “There's good in it, there's bad in it, so that makes it a good bill. What it does is it continues to do what the citizens of Minnesota voted for, to help natural resources and the culture, and the arts.”

[MORE: Download the spreadsheet]

The big difference in this year’s version is how that money gets distributed from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

The bill would create a competitive grant program for projects in the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund instead of earmarking money for individual projects.

“We created and maintain a pool of funding within the Minnesota Humanities Center, and increased their funding more than ever before,” said Vang, co-chair of the House Legacy Finance Committee.

Added Co-chair Rep. Joe McDonald (R-Delano): “What the humanities will be responsible for is vetting all these projects, these important projects around the state that come to them asking for funds. It will be merit based.”

That change is popular among members.

“It's always better in my opinion to have a competitive process, very specifically where there is that check and balance to confirm that these organizations are reputable and that taxpayer dollars are being elevated to their highest and best use,” said Rep. Josh Heintzeman (R-Nisswa).

Besides the competitive grant program, the bill would require an Arts and Cultural Heritage grant requestor provide their most recent 990 tax form, and prohibit funds to be spent on capital construction. Historical site preservation, accessibility modifications, and exhibits and art installations that require construction costs would be allowed.

And Clean Water Council recommendations submitted to the Legislature would need to be broken out by fiscal year instead of a biennium total.

Outdoor Heritage Fund

The Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council recommends $162.11 million to fund 51 projects throughout the state in fiscal year 2026.

The Outdoor Heritage Fund is the only fund that receives its appropriations on an annual basis rather than biennial basis and the amendment states that money may be spent only “to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands, prairies, forests, and habitat for fish, game, and wildlife.”

Outdoor Heritage Fund dollars include: $77.65 million for habitats, $33.43 million for prairies, $29.03 million for wetlands, $19.96 million for forests and $2.04 million for administration.

The largest single Outdoor Heritage Fund allocation would be $12.64 million for the Department of Natural Resources Roving Crew Phase 3, which has crews solely dedicated to habitat enhancement and restoration.

Clean Water Fund

The Clean Water Fund would receive $303.93 million in the upcoming biennium.

The Board of Water and Soil Resources would receive the biggest chunk of that allocation at $139.34 million. Of that, $88.1 million would be for watersheds.

The Pollution Control Agency would receive $49.2 million with $18.9 million going to river and lake monitoring and assessment and $14.5 million for watershed restoration and protection strategies.

The rest of the proposed allocations are $33.35 million to the Department of Agriculture, $30.14 million to the Department of Health, $28.8 million to the Department of Natural Resources, $16.54 million to the Public Facilities Authority, $4.15 million to the Metropolitan Council, and $2.4 million to the University of Minnesota.

Parks and Trails Fund

The Parks and Trails Fund would receive $130.17 million for fiscal years 2026-27. The DNR would receive $78.59 million and $51.32 million would go to the Met Council. Money must be used to “support parks and trails of regional or statewide significance.”

This year, $100,000 of the DNR’s budget and $200,000 of the Metropolitan Council’s budget is to fund Wilderness Inquiry that connects people through shared outdoor experiences so that everyone can equitably experience the benefits of time spent in nature.

Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund

The Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund would receive $179.91 million for fiscal years 2026-27. This includes $85.46 million for the Minnesota State Arts Board, $38.51 million for the Minnesota Historical Society, $24.84 million for the Minnesota Humanities Council, $19.25 million for the Department of Administration, $6 million for the Department of Education; $2.35 million for the Minnesota Zoo, $2 million to Indian Affairs Council, and $1.5 million for the Department of Agriculture.

The first-year appropriation is adjusted due to an overpayment to the Legacy Funds in previous years that was paid back to the general fund in fiscal year 2026. These appropriations also leave a 5% reserve in the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.