Vote No

Here are the details that unfortunately don't fit on a "Vote Yes" bumper sticker or yard sign. This amendment will fund four commendable causes: "Water Quality" (the clean water fund), "Wildlife Habitat" (an outdoor heritage fund), "Our Great Outdoors" (a parks and trails fund), and "Our Way of Life" (an arts and cultural heritage fund). These sound like good priorities, but consider the cost: this would increase the sales tax by three-eighths of one percent (0.00375 or 3/8%) for twenty-five years. This is a new tax, and it represents a substantial increase in funding for these areas by generating an estimated $312 million a year. For perspective, consider that the existing Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund has financed a total of $229 million in projects since 1990, including $21 million in 2008. That's a big difference.
To repeat, forty percent of the profits of the Minnesota State Lottery have flowed into this existing trust fund for almost twenty years, with a smaller percentage (now a total of $229 million) becoming available for spending as the fund builds. The new 3/8% tax will generate $312 million every single year ($11 billion over its twenty-five year life). It's not only going to fund clean water projects, but also theater and museum projects.