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Good To Know: Amending What Lawmakers Didn't Do

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Oct 16, 2008 7:38 am US/Central

Good To Know: Amending What Lawmakers Didn't Do

Reporting
Don Shelby
(WCCO) Minnesota voters will decide whether to amend the state's constitution this November, with what is called the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. Don Shelby says supporters said voters have to act, because the legislature has failed to.

It is a harsh criticism, but there is some truth in it. Forty percent of Minnesota lakes monitored by the MPCA do not meet minimum water quality standards.

Funding for such stewardship is at a 30-year low. Supporters of the amendment want to raise the sales tax by three-eighths of a cent to spend about $300 million a year on projects the legislature hasn't fully funded.

Opponents said the increased taxes would hurt business, drive sales across state lines for business close to the border. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce even tried to convince legislators to clean the water, but that failed.

It's just sad that it's come to this. The polls say that a majority of Minnesotans apparently think the legislature just hasn't done its job, so in November, will simply try to go around it.


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