Volunteer activism for Water Action Day. Photo credit: Quentin Kendall
Reporting on Our Fight For People and the Environment at the Minnesota State Capitol
Justin Fay
2018 was a banner year for legislative dysfunction and failures to compromise.
But, as in the case of the 2018 legislative session, when the ideas on the table are uniformly bad, failure to compromise meant many of the worst bills did not make it through.
The 2018 session of the Minnesota Legislature adjourned on May 20. With big ticket items such as the tax bill and the supplemental budget omnibus bill being vetoed, fewer significant provisions overall became law this year than in any of the previous seven sessions under Governor Dayton. The North Star Chapter stood alongside many allies this session to ensure that Minnesota’s environment was protected and, for the most part, we succeeded.
Among our significant defensive victories this year was Governor Dayton’s veto (twice!) of legislation to nullify Minnesota's sulfate pollution standard for wild rice lakes. Wild rice is a sacred food for the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) people as well as Minnesota’s state grain and a unique natural resource. Legislation being pushed by the mining industry would have eliminated an existing water quality standard for water bodies where wild rice grows naturally and ignored the extensive scientific work done to date.
Another milestone win was the Governor’s veto of the “Guilt by Association” bill. This legislation would have established new civil and criminal penalties for anyone who happened to be involved with a public event – such as a protest – where property was damaged, even if the individual being charged had nothing to do with the damage occurring! This bill was drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a right-wing industry front group funded by the Koch brothers. The North Star Chapter stood alongside allies from the ACLU, organized labor and other progressive allies to defeat this dangerous legislation.
A significant number of environmental rollbacks were proposed that never even made it to the Governor’s desk, including restrictions on using funds from the Volkswagen settlement to reduce air pollution and a bill to create a special process for Xcel Energy to charge customers for costs at their nuclear plants.
As always, some unfortunate things did make it through. The worst, by far, was a raid on the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF). The Trust Fund was approved by the voters of Minnesota through constitutional amendments in 1988 and again in 1998, and is funded by revenue from the state lottery. The final bonding bill in 2018 pays for debt service and interest on a number of bonding projects out of the Fund - breaking faith with Minnesota voters and setting a dangerous precedent that will need to be fought for years to come.
Still, given the uniquely challenging political climate of 2018, the number of defensive ‘wins’ we were able to accomplish is remarkable. Victories like these don’t just happen. Sierra Club members and supporters stepped up in a major way in 2018 – flooding the Governor and legislators with urgent calls to do right by our air, lands and waters. Thank you to everyone who took action this session. Capitol staff complimented the Sierra Club and our activists (YOU) on how we consistently and effectively engaged on issues.
Looking ahead to this November, Minnesotans will head to the polls to elect a new Governor and state House of Representatives. And in just under six months, our newly elected officials will take office and convene the 2019 session of the Minnesota Legislature.
What kind of session will it be? If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that elections have consequences.
So while we are sending you all best wishes for a pleasant summer in Minnesota’s great outdoors, we are also asking you to stay tuned because we will need you this election season in order to have a productive legislative session in 2019. See the High Stakes Election Year article, and join SierraVotes!
2018 Sierra Club Priorities & Final Outcomes
Initial Proposal | Final Outcome | Sierra Club Win or Loss |
Legislatively approving the Enbridge Line 3 tar sands pipeline | Vetoed by Governor Dayton | Win |
Holding Minnesotans guilty by association for damage or trespass at certain ‘critical infrastructure’ sites – such as pipelines | Vetoed by Governor Dayton | Win |
Nullification of Minnesota’s sulfate pollution standard for wild rice water bodies | Vetoed by Governor Dayton | Win |
Pre-empting cities and counties from imposing fees on disposable packaging | Vetoed by Governor Dayton as part of omnibus tax bill | Win |
Advanced determination of prudence for Xcel Energy’s nuclear plants | Failed to pass MN House | Win |
Removal of financing requirement for community solar plans approved by the PUC | Vetoed by Governor Dayton as part of omnibus supplemental budget bill | Win |
Constitutional amendment to dedicate funding to roads only (excludes transit funding) | Failed to pass MN Senate | Win |
Governance ‘reforms’ for the Metropolitan Council | Vetoed by Governor Dayton | Win |
Cap on Xcel Energy’s payments to the Renewable Development Account | Vetoed by Governor Dayton as part of omnibus supplemental budget bill | Win |
Legislative approval requirement for changes to water fees by MPCA | Vetoed by Governor Dayton | Win |
Legislative blocking of Groundwater Protection Act rulemaking (Nitrogen pollution rule) | Vetoed by Governor Dayton | Win |
Limitations on MPCA to properly manage grants under the Volkswagen settlement | Failed to pass MN Senate and MN House | Win |
Bonding for wastewater treatment, DNR asset preservation and land conservation | Included in final bonding bill, however at lower levels than requested | Loss |
Raid on Environmental Trust Fund to pay for debt service and interest for bonding projects | Passed and signed into law as part of omnibus bonding bill | Loss |
16 Year ‘holiday’ for local governments and industrial polluters | Passed and signed into law | Loss |
Justin Fay is the Senior Chapter Representative.