Minnesota lawmakers might pass the largest environmental budget in state history. Including some new fees.

Many Minnesota 15 fish hatcheries It was built in the 1950’s and is still running with original equipment. And while it’s needed to stock lakes and rivers so anglers can fish all over the state, the Department of Natural Resources and outdoor advocates say hatcheries are outdated.

“They’re old and need a major renovation or a complete rebuild,” said Mark Holsten, executive director of the non-profit organization MN-Fish.

That’s one reason the DNR asked the legislature this year for a major influx of money, intended in part to modernize and revitalize aging infrastructure like hatcheries, fishing docks, campsites, boat landings, parks and boardwalks.

More controversially, state officials also want to increase fees for things like park permits and hunting licenses to help pay for ongoing costs like extra staffing, maintenance, and even basic needs like employee pay raises. It’s an idea that has met with opposition from Republicans and even some Capitol Democrats, causing a buzz about the potential for higher costs when Minnesota has a massive $17.5 billion surplus.

Whether or not the DFLers who control the legislature approve those new fees, it is very likely that legislators will spend heavily on DNR as part of the massive environment and natural resources budget that is now making its way through the legislature covering the work of many state agencies.

Top Democrats authorized the House and Senate environmental committees to spend an additional $670 million from the state’s general fund in the two-year budget. That’s an extraordinarily high amount for environmental issues, thanks to this huge surplus. Total new spending may end up being higher when other sources of revenue are accounted for.

Bob Meyer, assistant commissioner at the DNR, said the budget plan is “the largest we’ve ever seen”.

“I think a couple of years ago they had a $19 million goal,” Meyer said. This year it amounted to 670 million dollars. You’ll never see that again… Historically we’re fighting for crumbs.”

DNR application for new financing – and new fees

DNR’s multifaceted budget request stems from the agency’s unusual funding. Only a quarter of the DNR budget comes from the state’s general fund, which is the main pot for taxpayer money from things like income taxes that fuel state spending.

The rest of the DNR’s finances come from a mix of other sources. Primarily, DNR makes money through user fees — things like park permits, fishing and hunting licenses, and boat registrations. So even as the state reports a stunning, record-breaking surplus, the DNR budget picture is detached and, in some areas, in limbo.

Yes, the agency You don’t want a bigger slice of the state’s public funds To be less dependent on charges which can be more volatile if, for example, there is a drop in interest in deer hunting. But that’s not easy right now because a lot of the massive surplus is only available now and won’t last for years and budgets to come.

That’s why DNR has requested a significant amount of change for short-term initiatives and new fee increases that will save cash in the coming years.

For example, during a hearing in February, DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen told lawmakers about her request for $35 million from the General Fund to help modernize hatcheries, beach fishing spots, and piers. Many of these docks are in disarray, Holsten said, and he said developing hatcheries could help deal with new problems like invasive aquatic species.

But the agency also wants a 20% increase in the price of a hunting license for Minnesota residents, and a 31% increase for non-resident licenses.

“The continued revenue from fee increases will actually pay for those fisheries resource management costs, staff, and our fisheries expertise to collect data, analyze that data, and make management decisions that benefit the fish population,” Strommen said.

In all, the lawmakers’ full DNR request is extensive and includes about $287 million in new government spending. For context, agency The most recent budget for two years was $1.3 billion.

DNR also wants hundreds of millions more for infrastructure projects funded through government borrowing. In all, the funds include initiatives to modernize and develop parks roads, buildings and trails, camping infrastructure, boating access, fisheries, creeks, and water-related infrastructure such as sewers and more. (Whether lawmakers will approve the bill on bonds or cash for government infrastructure projects remains to be seen In limbo because of a separate battle over tax cuts.)

There are six increased DNR application fees. Two of these fees are charged to companies such as utility companies and golf courses. Four rest on entertainment:

• Gardens: Among the increases, the daily vehicle license will go from $7 to $10, and the annual pass will go from $35 to $45.
• fishing: A resident hunting license will jump from $25 to $30 and non-resident licenses will increase from $51 to $67.
• Boats: Additional cost on boats for aquatic invasive species will go from $10.60 to $20.
• Watercraft Registrations: These registrations, which last for three years, will rise between 78% and 143% depending on the size of the boat. The current registration fee for a motorboat between 17-foot and 19-foot is $27, and the fee will increase to $59.

While declines in deer hunting and fishing have caused the DNR to question its funding sources in recent years, the agency does not suffer from a lack of demand for licenses in every case. State budget documents indicate a spike in visitors at state parks, especially in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. This leads to increased revenue, but also a greater impact on the parks infrastructure and more need for services.

The agency says it will use the money from the more expensive park passes in part to expand visitor services in the spring and fall, the seasons in which visitor numbers now rival summer. “Visits became high throughout the year, however staffing levels remained relatively unchanged,” the budget documents say.

The DNR has also requested funds for other initiatives, including money to assist with reforestation efforts in areas affected by the emerald ash borer and additional cash to manage chronic wasting disease in deer.

Much of the change — nearly $90 million in the two-year budget from the General Fund and other sources of revenue such as fees — would also simply pay for maintaining “current levels of service,” which includes things like higher gasoline costs, employee salaries and benefits, septic systems and garbage removal. .

Divide over the fee increase

Some DFLers have supported the idea of ​​a fee increase, even as Minnesota has a large surplus. the Environmental budget plan released by House Democrats Each included a fee increase, which together will bring in about $30.4 million in the next two years.

State Rep. Rick Hansen, a South St. Paul Democrat who chairs the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee, said he did not want the fees to increase. But during a recent hearing, Hansen said it’s necessary when Democrats want to spend big on a wide range of environmental priorities while making sure the state pays the government employees who make the agency work. Hansen accused Republicans of not approving enough environmental spending when the GOP controlled the Senate.

“We’re putting it into things that have been blocked for four years,” Hansen said of general fund spending. “Total overhaul of chronic wasting disease. Total emerald ash borers, total invasive aquatic species. All of these things we’re investing in.”

However, plans to increase fees met opposition from Republicans. Nisswa State Rep. Josh Heintzman, the top Republican on the House Environment Committee, said the impact of higher fees would be felt across the state and isn’t necessary when lawmakers can simply offset them with a portion of the budget surplus.

“Is there a dollar amount that can put in a fee increase for another year or two and keep the agency operating at a high level?” Heintzeman asked in session. “Maybe it’s not possible, but I think it might be.”

The Republican Party has little power to change the DFL’s agenda because they are a political minority in the House and Senate.

But the Senate Environmental budget plan, written by the Democrats, did not include any fee increases. Peer Hansen, Sen. Phung Houj, DFL-St. Paul, said the lack of fees helped make the legislation fiscally responsible. The plan did not fill those fees with other money, Meyer said, leaving the agency short of its goals.

One Democrat, Sen. Grant Houseschild of Hermantown, told MinnPost that a few DFLers have expressed concerns about the fees, including him. With such a large surplus, he said, lawmakers can fund their priorities without placing costs on “the shoulders of outdoor recreation.” Hauschild said it represents one of the densest outdoor neighborhoods in the state.

“At the moment, where we are now, I think we can fund the necessary needs that we have,” said Hauschild. “We’ve completed fish hatcheries, accessed public waters, funded trails and parks.”

The DFL has a one-vote majority in the Senate, which means any Democrat can block the legislation if it doesn’t get any Republican support.

However, Hauschild said he is open to discussions about the appropriate level of fees in the future, and would not commit to voting against a hypothetical final bill being negotiated between the House and Senate that includes fee increases. “The reason is that I don’t know what else will be there,” he said.

This means, at least for now, that fee increases aren’t necessarily dead on.

Some fees had not been raised in about two decades, Strommen said, in February, so the sharp rise in some areas was justified to make up for lost time and inflation. Other fee hikes have been more gradual, such as an additional $5 for a Minnesota resident fishing license.

“For less than the cost of one average fishing lure, you have access to our amazing fishing opportunities in Minnesota,” Strommen said.

The historic environmental budget is ahead

While lawmakers may still be sorting out the issue of fees and other natural resource policy debates, both the House and Senate agree to fund large portions of DNR plans and an overall environmental budget.

Other joint priorities include $17 to $20 million for the “ReLeaf” program aimed at reforestation of emerald ash borers and $40 to $173 million for a climate-related water infrastructure initiative run by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Billing also includes major policies such as a Ban new permits for deer farmsWhich most Republicans opposed but which Democrats seemed to support.

Soon, the leaders of the House and Senate will begin negotiating a final bill that could pass the legislature and reach Governor Tim Walz’s desk.

“Last year we were talking about $10 million,” Hansen said. “This year it’s $670 million, the biggest ever. What an opportunity, but it won’t last forever.”