MN Constitutional Ballot Question Title: Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund Renewal
If you haven’t voted yet, or if you have you probably have seen this Minnesota Constitutional Ballot Question on either the actual ballot or the “What’s on my Ballot?” link on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website. You might be wondering what is going on with this Constitutional Ballot Question.
Well the language of it is misleading. Most reading it above, will scratch their heads and think that the “Legacy” Fund is coming to an end and there needs to be a renewal vote. That’s not true.
The Misleading Constitutional Ballot Question Explained
To explain how misleading this Constitutional Ballot Question is, I, Publius Jr, asked the Executive Director of the Minnesota Voters Alliance, Andy Cilek, if I could repost his note about this issue, and by permission here is his explanation.
MN Voters Alliance Explanation
There are some important details voters should be aware of before casting a vote on the measure:
- Although this proposal does renew the money to be spent on conservation issues, it will result in a change of how the funds are allocated and removes the Legislature from the decision-making process and oversight.
- This would increase the amount of funds collected through the lottery allocated and added to the programs by 20%. With these new funds, they will be disbursed based on equity and disparities (DEI) by a new commission/taskforce with one like the composition of the new flag commission. Eleven positions must be appointed by the Advisory Council and must include 4 tribe members and 4 members from communities of color. These funds will be handed out through grants to non-profits
Although MVA [MN Voters Alliance] is not in support of, nor in opposition to, this referendum, we want to make voters aware of important information so they can make an informed vote.
A no vote does not remove the funding from the original amendment/implementation because it has not expired. The current money will continue to fund environmental programs as Minnesotans desire and can be extended, when it does expire, by a simple renewal by the Legislature.
A yes vote would extend the dedication of revenue from the state-operated lottery to the Environment and Natural Resources Fund through December 31, 2050; increase the amount of money that can be spent from the fund each year from 5.5% to 7.0% of the fund’s market value; and create a grant program to provide funding for projects related to addressing environmental issues in affected communities, environmental education, and natural resource conservation.
MN Voters Alliance is not for or against this measure, but this website, saintpaulrepublicans.us suggests you Vote NO on this measure.
Our Reasons to VOTE NO on the Constitutional Ballot Question:
- The Ballot Question in the way it’s worded is misleading
- It takes the decision of how the money is allocated away from the Elected Body of the Legislature.
- It embraces DEI
- It requires an Advisory Board of 11 who are 4/11 Tribal Members as well as 4/11 a specific group by the color of their skin, plus 3 people who don’t have a specific requirement of who they are (not equal representation of the people who live here).
- It also hands off more money to nonprofit organizations with no oversight of how the money is spent by those groups.
Saintpaulrepublicans.us received permission to repost MN Voters Alliance’s Executive Director Andy Cilek’s explanation of the Constitutional Ballot Question. It was sent out in an email to those signed up on their email list, on September 20, 2024. Other than being on their email list, saintpaulrepublicans.us is not associated with the MN Voters Alliance organization. The content was not changed except for adding a bold font in some areas and adding a highlight color to some parts to add emphasis to it. I also spelled out what “MVA” meant in square brackets.
If you would like to know more about them go to their website mnvoters.org ~~ Publius Jr.