As implied by its name, the omnibus environment and natural resources budget and policy bill would fund two large state entities, the Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Natural Resources.
But the bill also has a breadth to it that would fund projects touching almost every aspect of daily life, ranging from making improvements to regional parks and trails, funding outdoors schools for K-12 students, and studying ways to reduce toxic algae blooms in lakes.
There are significant policy changes in the bill, also wide-ranging, from restructuring the environmental permitting processes used by the Pollution Control Agency to extending the bass fishing season to all year.
Passed 105-26 by the House and 38-29 by the Senate Monday, SSHF8/SSSF3* now heads to the governor. Rep. Josh Heintzeman (R-Nisswa) and Sen. Foung Hawj (DFL-St. Paul) are the sponsors.
“We worked very hard to keep our committee tight and working on the issues that are most important to Minnesotans,” said Heintzeman, co-chair of the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee.
Some of the big-ticket items that would be funded by $1.19 billion in 2026-27 General Fund appropriations include:
[MORE: View the spreadsheet]
The Science Museum of Minnesota is partially funded by the bill; it would get $2.72 million. And the Metropolitan Council would get $25.1 million, including $18.4 million for metropolitan-area regional parks for trails maintenance and operations, and a one-time $900,000 grant in fiscal year 2026 for tree-planting projects.
The bill would also appropriate $103.3 million in fiscal year 2026 from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund for more than 100 projects. Trust Fund money is generated by the Minnesota State Lottery, and each year the Legislature distributes grants from the fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources.
Hawj said the projects will protect and preserve the state’s natural resources through a new funding system requiring grants to focus on communities affected by climate change, low-income communities, and other underserved areas.
He was referring to a provision in the bill that would make statutory changes to Trust Fund grant programs by requiring community grants to be expended for benefits across all regions and residents of the state, allowing community grants to be awarded for trail maintenance and improvement and aquatic invasive species management, and prohibiting the awarding of community grants to a state agency, the University of Minnesota, or for scientific research.
Policy changes
Many of the proposed policy changes focus on reforming the permitting processes used by the Pollution Control Agency by making them more efficient and speedier for businesses needing environmental permits to operate in the state.
Heintzeman called the changes long overdue, while also acknowledging the result is a compromise not everyone is happy about.
“It’s not everything anybody wanted. But it is a great step in the right direction to help municipalities, to help businesses, to help those seeking permits, and that’s something that I think we can all be proud of today.”
Pollution Control Agency reforms would:
[MORE: View summation of policy provisions]
Several changes would relax regulations prohibiting intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in consumer products and other substances.
The bill would:
Other notable policy provisions include: