Audubon Issue Tracker

2009 Archives

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As of May 18th, session is over. Hallelujah!

In the final week, the Capitol was shaken when Governor Pawlenty announced he would resolve the budget alone through unallotments and line-item vetoes. The unallotment tool has traditionally been used as a crisis management fix at the end of a two-year budget. That he intends to use it at the beginning of a two-year budget cycle significantly changes the playing field at the Capitol. Protesters carried signs that read: King Pawlenty. I don’t think we’ve got ourselves a monarchy, but the Governor did render the 2009 House and Senate fairly impotent. The unallotment tool should fall heavily on local governments and health care, meaning Audubon’s issues aren’t likely to be impacted. But we’re likely to hear a lot about cuts to nursing homes, hospitals, and police and fire departments for the next year or more.

So how did Audubon fare in 2009? Fairly well, especially toward the end of the session. The major conference committees – Environment Finance, Legacy Constitutional Funds and Environment Policy – all started with a host of issues that concerned us but ended with those issues being resolved to our favor. My favorite highlight of session? No bad news. Usually, the legislature has one or two really bad new laws. That was not the case this year. Below you can read our key issues and below that the list of issues with links to their status at the Capitol.

Bills/Policies we supported that passed into law

• Omnibus Environment Finance Bill.
• Omnibus Environment Policy Bill.
• Omnibus Energy Policy Bill.
• Omnibus Clean Water, Land and Legacy bill including the 187,000 Upper Mississippi Forest Project.
• Requiring the DNR to enact new rules to protect the Mississippi River Critical Area in the Twin Cities.
• Delaying the merger of the DNR’s Ecological Services and Waters divisions.
• Prohibiting the sale of wildlife lands for the purpose of budget balancing.
• Requiring a report on the value of carbon sequestration in Minnesota’s forests.
• Allowing for seizure and forfeiture of off-highway vehicles in the case of repeated wetland offenses.
• Reestablishing the Green Acres tax incentive program.
• Requiring state buildings and their tenants to turn the lights out during the spring and fall migrations.
• Creating incentives for electric cars.
• Establishing incentives for solar cities.

Bills/Policies we supported that did not pass

• Closing the loophole that allow alcohol consumption while on an off-highway vehicle.
• Closing the loophole that allows riders to trespass while on an off-highway vehicle.
• Allowing charter schools to use economic stimulus money for on-site solar and wind development.
• Ending the policy that allows off-highway vehicles on any unposted trail in our state forests north of highway 2.
• Requiring that at least 50% of all state forests are for traditional non-motorized uses only.
• Requiring financial assurance for any new nonferrous metallic mining operations.
• Requiring California’s clean car emission standard for cars sold in Minnesota.
• Enacting a low carbon fuel standard.
• Creating tax credits for telecommuting.
• Conservation Partners Program administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
• Creating wind and solar investment incentives for local small operators – commonly called feed-in tariffs.
• Allowing fuel-efficient vehicles on high-occupancy vehicle lanes.

Bills/Policies we opposed that passed into law

• Funding for the off-highway vehicle Ambassador program.
• Changing the definition of off-highway vehicle to allow for more powerful engines.

Bills/Policies we opposed that did not pass into law

• Funding Outdoors Minnesota through an over-reliance on the nongame wildlife account.
• Funding Wolf depradation through the nongagame wildlife account.
• Creating a parks advisory council consisting of many motorized interest groups.
• Allowing ATVs on County Roads
• Adding bear baiting to the list of exemptions for which an ATV may be used off-trails.
• Creating a Class 3 all-terrain vehicle for government use.
• Allowing for the wholesale leasing of state forests to timber companies. A pilot program did pass, but with significant and helpful revisions.

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Omnibus Bills
Positions not taken on overall bills, but rather sections within the bill.

Bills - Author - Description - Audubon Position

HF 2132 - Wagenius - Omnibus Environment Finance - Audubon is working to protect non-game wildlife funds and other provisions - see this letter.
SF 2099 - Anderson, E.

HF 1231 - Murphy - Omnibus Clear Water, Land and Legacy Bill - Strong support. Some tweaks needed to ensure advisory council's recommendations are honored.
SF 2106 - Anderson, E.

HF 1973 - Wagenius - Clean Water Legacy (see Clean Water, Land and Legacy Omnibus Bill - SF 2106 and HF 1231) - Audubon's Mississippi River Critical Area bill is in this bill
SF 1651 - Rummel

HF 2131 - Hansen - Outdoor Heritage (see Clean Water, Land and Legacy Omnibus Bill - SF 2106 and HF 1231) - Funding for forests, prairies, wetlands, and the Conservation Partners Program
SF 1927 - Saxhaug

HF 1493 - Lillie - Parks and Trails (see Clean Water, Land and Legacy Omnibus Bill - SF 2106 and HF 1231) - An advisory council consisting of many motorized trail interests that Audubon opposed has been deleted from this bill (for now)
SF 1729 - Bakk

HF 863 - Hilty - Energy Policy - Several efforts to reduce carbon emissions are contained in this bill
SF 550 - Prettner Solon

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Off-Highway Vehicles
Membership Support from Annual Meeting 11/08/08

Bills - Author - Description - Audubon Position

HF 132 - Cornish - All-terrain vehicle operation allowed on county roads - As an effort to mitigate wildlife damage this has merit, but it should be considered in a pilot region before being applied statewide
SF NA - NA

HF 150 - Anzelc - Disabled Access to OHVs - No position
SF 221 - Saxhaug

HF 1102 - Paymar - Closing the loophole that allows alcohol consumption while operating an off-highway vehicle - Support (EIC 1/09)
SF 1067 - Moua

HF 1103 - Paymar - Closing the loophole that allows a right to trespass while on an off-highway vehicle - Support (EIC 1/09)
SF 1066 - Moua

HF 1285 - Persell - Requires that all state forests adopt an off-highway vehicle policy that requires OHVs to stay only on dedicated roads and trails - Support (Annual Meeting 11/08/08)
SF 1174 - Dibble

HF NA - NA - Requires that at least 50% of state forests are for traditional non-motorized uses only - Support (Annual Meeting 11/08/08)
SF 1173 - Dibble

HF 1138 - Dill - Adds bear baiting to the list of hunting exemptions that allow for off-trail OHV use and adds August and September for the purpose of bear baiting - Oppose (EIC 3/13/09)

HF NA - NA - Creates a Class 3 all-terrain vehicle for government use - Oppose (EIC 3/13/09)
SF 1371 - Erickson Ropes

HF 1237 - Eken - House version contains allowance for more powerful ATV engines. Senate does not. - Oppose (EIC 3/27/09

HF 1493 - Lillie - A subdivision creates a council heavily weighted toward motorized interests to guide the Constitutional Parks and Trails fund (see Clean Water, Land and Legacy Omnibus Bill - SF 2106 and HF 1231) - Oppose (EIC 3/27/09)
SF 1729 - Bakk - Oppose (EIC 3/27/09)

SF 1110 - Chaudhary - Contains a provision that allows seizure/forfeiture of an off-highway vehicle for repeat wetland violations - Support (EIC 4/8/09)
HF 1237 - Eken

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Wildlife Funding
Membership Support from Annual Meeting 11/08/08

Bills - Author - Description - Audubon Position

HF 638 - Scalze - Outdoor recreation system land sales prohibited (see Omnibus Environment Finance Bill - SF 2099 and HF 2132) - Support (EIC 1/09)
SF 353 - Chaudhary

HF NA - NA - Support for Mud Lake Restoration - Support (EIC 12/08)
SF NA - NA

HF 424 - Hansen - Mississippi River Critical Area Rulemaking (see Clean Water, Land and Legacy Omnibus Bill - SF 2106 and HF 1231) - Support (EIC 1/09)
SF 671 - Sieben

HF 2131 - Hansen - Outdoor Heritage Fund Appropriations, including Forest Legacy Proposal for 188,000 acres of UPM/Kymmene (aka Blandin) land (see Clean Water, Land and Legacy Omnibus Bill - SF 2106 and HF 1231) - Support (EIC 1/09)
SF 1927 - Saxhaug

HF 10 - Doty - Repeal of 2008's Green Acres Revisions - Support (EIC email vote mid-1/09)
SF 238 - Fobbe

NA - Support for regulations on minnows in public wetlands - Support (EIC 2/09)

HF 916 - Hausman - Nonferrous metallic mineral mining permits issuance prohibition; financial assurance from operator of nonferrous metallic mineral mine requirements - Support (EIC 3/13/09)
SF 845 - Carlson

HF 1973 - Wagenius - Clean Water Legacy Appropriations (see Clean Water, Land and Legacy Omnibus Bill - SF 2106 and HF 1231) - Support (EIC 3/27/09)
SF 1836 - Chaudhary

HF 1781 - Kahn - Lights Out for State Buildings - Support (EIC 4/8/09)
SF 2082 - Betzold

Federal Legislation Upper Mississippi River Protection Act (HR 2381), Rep. Ron Kind - Support (EIC 3/7/09)

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Carbon Reduction Bills
Membership Support from Annual Meeting 11/08/08

Bills - Author - Description - Audubon Position

HF 690 - Hortman - Minnesota Clean Car Act adopted, decreased emissions required, low emission standards adopted, and federal Clean Air Act updates provided - Support (Annual Meeting 11/08/08)
SF 674 - Marty

HF 86 - Hortman - Low Carbon Fuel Standard - Support (Annual Meeting 11/08/08)
SF 13 - Sheran

HF 400 - Anderson, S. - Tax Credit Incentives for Telecommuting - Support (EIC 2/09)
SF 527 - Bonoff

HF 399 - Anderson, S. - Fuel-efficient vehicles allowed to be operated on high-occupancy vehicle lanes - Support (EIC 2/09)
SF NA - NA

HF 898 - Hornstein - Greenhouse gas reduction goals and strategies; sensible communities grant program; vehicle miles traveled reduction; appropriations - Support (Annual Meeting 11/08/08)
SF 549 - Dibble

HF 932 - Bly - Energy Security and Economic Development Act of 2009 - Feed-in Tariffs - Support (EIC 3/13/09)
SF 843 - Anderson

HF 774 - Knuth - Creating a Greenhouse Gas Reporting System (see Omnibus Environment Finance Bill - SF 2099 and HF 2132) - Support (EIC 3/13/09)
SF 444 - Prettner Solon

HF 898 - Hornstein - Greenhouse gas reduction goals and strategies added to various state and metropolitan programs and plans, goals established for per capita reduction in vehicle miles traveled to reduce greehouse gases and money transferred - Support (EIC 3/3/09)
SF 549 - Dibble

HF NA - NA - Wind Incentives for Schools (see Omnibus Environment Finance Bill - SF 2099 and HF 2132) - Support (EIC 3/27/09)
SF 1390 - Bonoff

HF 1250 - Hornstein - Electric Car Incentives - Support (EIC 3/27/09)
SF 916 - Dibble

HF 1992 - Johnson - Solar cities energy working group establishment, report and appropriation (see Omnibus Environment Finance Bill - SF 2099 and HF 2132) - Support (EIC 3/27/09)
SF 1922 - Anderson

HF 1132 - Dill - Leasing State Forests - Oppose (EIC 4/24/09)
SF 805 - Saxhaug - Leasing State Forests - Oppose (EIC 4/24/09)

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