Bill approved to prevent Legacy-funded art projects from promoting domestic terrorism, criminal activity

A video game where players can destroy oil pipelines was partly funded through a state arts grant, and now a legislator is proposing new rules to prevent this from happening again.

“I realize art is up to interpretation, but this video game holds absolutely no benefit to the taxpayers of Minnesota who paid for it,” Rep. Steve Green (R-Fosston) said in a statement. “It is a disgrace that someone would work the system this way, using tax dollars to produce violent messages.”

Rep. Steve Green

Sponsored by Green, HF3269 would change requirements for projects funded by the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. It would require those projects be completed in Minnesota by a Minnesota resident and would prohibit funding projects that promote domestic terrorism or criminal activities. If someone uses the fund for these purposes, they could face civil penalties under this bill.

The House Legacy Funding Finance Committee laid the bill over for possible omnibus inclusion during a hearing Monday. It has no Senate companion.

The video game that inspired the bill is called “Thunderbird Strike,” and Green says it promotes domestic terrorism. In the game, a player controls a thunderbird that flies around reviving animals and gathering lightning – the lightning is then used to destroy trucks and pipeline infrastructure.

WATCH Committee discussion of the bill 

“Thunderbird Strike” was funded by a $3,290 grant issued through the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund in 2016, Green said, noting there were also questions about whether the artist was a resident of Minnesota while she worked on the project.

This bill is meant to put some guidelines in place to prevent projects like this from “sliding by” with no punishment, Green explained after the meeting.

No one testified on the bill during Monday’s meeting.

Minnesota voters in 2008 passed the Legacy Amendment, which increases the state sales tax by three-eighths of 1 percent through 2034. This tax revenue is distributed into four funds, including the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Since 2010, the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund has appropriated more than $441 million for projects that support the arts, arts education, arts access, and to preserve the state’s history and cultural heritage.