January 23: Backfilling with Legacy Dollars Conservation Minnesota, the state outpost of the League of Conservation Voters, recently released a report showing how the legislature and the governor have been using dedicated Legacy Amendment dollars to make up for general fund budget shortfalls. That is directly contrary to the intent of the voters, and I applaud CM for shining a light on this problem. I have thought the practice of dealing with the Legacy spending and the other program budgets in separate bills makes it easier for the Legislature to evade the constitutional requirement. Legacy projects and program support should be on the same budget sheets as general fund (or other dedicated fund) projects and program support, so any shifts onto the Legacy funding would be more transparent.
We have certainly heard some legislators say they intend to push the Legacy funding just as far as the courts will allow, to make solving our long-term general fund budget problem easier. But the Constitution is something all three branches of government are sworn to uphold. The Legacy Amendment should not end up as something the legislature and governor try to get around. It should be something all three branches of government do their best to implement.
January 20: KeystoneXL Battle Enters New Phase As anticipated, President Obama formally rejected the proposed KeystoneXL pipeline this past week. When the payroll tax bill included the new deadline for the President's decision, the outcome was, in my view, preordained. If he approved it, right after saying that the environmental review was inadequate because it did not consider alternate routes, there would have been lawsuits the pipeline advocates (and the Administration) would likely lose, and the President would have been accused (rightly) of a pretty major flip-flop. Now, by denying the petition, but encouraging TransCanada to reapply, the decision gets kicked down the road. So I think the celebrations have been a tad premature, but maybe living to fight another day is something to celebrate. I still think it quite possible that the Administration will eventually approve the pipeline, again on the grounds that killing the pipeline will not stop Canada tar sands mining, and will therefore not reduce GHG's. It won't be approved soon, however.
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