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Lands bill stalls after tie vote; donation to Carley State Park highlighted
Summary
Representative Jacob's annual lands bill included a proposed 58-acre donation to Carley State Park and several county tax-forfeited land sales; members split 7–7 on a motion to refer the bill to Ways and Means, so it failed to move out of committee.
Representative Tim Jacob presented House File 1249, the DNR lands bill, and moved to re-refer it to the Ways and Means Committee. The bill contains seven sections: a proposed addition of roughly 58 acres to Carley State Park (to enable a future donation), and several county-proposed private sales of tax-forfeited land in Aitkin, Itasca, Sibley and St. Louis counties.
Lori Klein, attorney for the DNR Division of Lands and Minerals, described the bill's components and said the 58-acre addition would facilitate a possible future donation; the landowners who proposed the gift, Mike and Jeanette Morath, were present and later testified.
Mike Morath said the couple wishes to donate their land to protect a trout stream valley and expand wildlife corridors between Whitewater State Park and Carley State Park. "This is why it is important to us to gift our property after our deaths to Carley State Park," he said, noting conservation and public-recreation motivations.
Committee discussion included questions about several county-proposed private sales; Representative Godfried and others expressed concerns about at least one private sale in Itasca County. Representative Jacob said the lands bill has bipartisan support and renewed his motion to re-refer the bill to Ways and Means.
A roll call on the motion recorded seven yes votes and seven no votes; with a 7–7 tie, the motion to re-refer failed and House File 1249 did not move out of committee.
