Senate finance panel backs $187 million Outdoor Heritage Fund package after amendments

The Senate Finance Committee on May 6 recommended passage of Senate File 4304, the Outdoor Heritage Fund appropriation, after a lengthy presentation by Sen. Hawj and testimony from Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council (LSOHC) Executive Director Kristina Smitten and agency staff.

Sen. Hawj said the bill represents 18 years of LSOHC recommendations under the 2008 Legacy constitutional amendment and directed the committee to Smitten for details. Kristina Smitten told committee members the council approved a slate of recommendations for FY2027 that the bill would fund: 452 programs totaling about $187 million (after forecast adjustments), projected to protect or restore nearly 69,000 acres of wildlife habitat and about 40 miles of shoreline, and to leverage roughly $50 million in federal, local and private conservation funding.

Agency staff (Mr. Mueller) summarized worksheet changes from the original bill, noting the Roseau Lake project was removed in Environment Committee and that a small net reduction from the original bill remained after reallocations. Committee members asked whether protected acres would be fee acquisitions (which remove land from tax rolls) or easements; staff explained brochures differentiate projects protected in fee (some with PILT payments) from easement projects that typically remain privately owned and may continue to be taxed, often at reduced rates.

Sen. Johnson offered the A11 amendment to delay funds for one Roseau-area project until Jan. 1 to allow landowners contemplating legal action time to file and to require reporting and assessment of affected farmland; the author Sen. Hawj accepted the amendment for floor tailoring and it was adopted. Sen. Johnson later offered A13 (an eight-year term limit for public members of the council); the committee debated whether term limits were appropriate at the Finance Committee stage and whether councils should vet the idea; roll-call vote recorded five yeas and six nays and the motion did not prevail. A14 (a hiring-transparency amendment for the executive director position) was also debated and failed on a roll-call.

Committee members also probed fiscal details about PILT payments; staff said PILT payments are an open appropriation from the General Fund and estimated PILT cost for the bill at about $324,000 in one year. Sen. Hawj closed by noting the bill largely reflects council recommendations (with the Roseau removal) and Sen. Pappas moved SF4304 as amended be recommended to pass; the committee forwarded the bill to the Senate floor.

Next steps: SF4304 proceeds to the Senate floor; amendments debated in Finance may be further adjusted in floor debate or conference committee.