LEGACY ACT ON NOVEMBER BALLOT

Minnesota voters will decide the future of the Legacy Act this fall. Both House and Senate approved the measure yesterday. House Democrat Leader Tony Sertich was the chief author of the bill. If approved in November, the bill would raise the state sales tax by just under one-half percent and raise $276-Million over the next 25 years. Most of the money would be spent on the outdoors, clean water efforts and parks and trails. Nearly 20% would be spent on arts, arts education and arts access grants to nonprofit organizations and handed out by the Minnesota Board of the Arts. Some would also spend money on grants to schools for art education. Don McMillan is the president of the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance and said most of his members are not going to vote for the amendment, primarily because skeptical hunters and anglers wonder if the money will someday be used for something else. The law said lawmakers will decide how the money is spent through the normal legislative process.