Committee lays over bill to update Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission statutes, extend five grants

The Legacy Finance Committee laid over House File 3564 for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill after lawmakers heard from the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission.

Representative (bill author) introduced the measure, saying the bill updates statutory language for the commission and extends the performance window for five legacy-funded projects that need more time to complete work. The sponsor said statutory language written when the commission was created is now outdated and certain procedural requirements — such as a district-wide master-plan mandate — are onerous for some local governments.

Rick Anderson, chair of the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission, told the committee the commission recommends striking obsolete subdivisions, allowing master plans to be project-specific rather than requiring a county-wide plan, clarifying priority and funding allocation language, and permitting district-wide modifications that would enable more flexible reductions in grant awards if revenue falls short. Anderson said the requested one-year extensions are to accommodate permitting delays, rebidding and other unanticipated obstacles; he emphasized no additional funding is requested and staff expect the extended projects to finish within current budgets.

Vice Chair Scott moved to lay the bill over for potential inclusion in a future omnibus bill; the committee approved the motion by voice vote and the bill was laid over.

Ending: Committee members voiced general support for updating the statutes and agreed to return to the bill as part of the committee’s upcoming work on legacy-funded projects.