Minnesota voters on Tuesday backed a ballot measure extending authorization for state lottery money use on conservation and environmental efforts.

With all precincts counted, nearly 77% of voters said yes to the measure. The rest either voted no or did not answer the ballot question, which also counted as a no.

The constitutional amendment renews approval for the state using Minnesota State Lottery revenue for conservation, raises the amount of lottery money the state can spend each year and creates a new advisory council to decide how to award grants.

Lottery sales last year topped $787 million, up from $597 million in 2018. The Minnesota State Lottery sends 40% of its revenue to the state’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund to pay for conservation projects.

Voters last authorized funding through a ballot measure in 1998, which extended the authorization through 2025. Now it will last until 2050. The first time voters approved funding was when the lottery was created in 1988.

This year’s measure differs from those in the past. Voters this year also gave the state the go-ahead to spend 7% of the fund’s value each year, a 1.5% increase from before.

That extra amount will go toward new grant programs aimed at “helping adversely impacted communities respond to environmental degradation and related health concerns,” education and preservation efforts.

The measure also creates an 11-member advisory council appointed by the commissioner of natural resources to review the new grants.

Members will be required to have expertise in the environment or natural resources and to represent the state’s various tribal and ethnic groups. There’s also a requirement for environmental representation from urban, suburban and rural areas.

The Legislature voted to put the measure on the 2024 ballot during the 2023 session.

Backers of the measure included business groups, nonprofits and local governments, who formed a group called “Minnesotans For Our Great Outdoors” to raise awareness about the measure.

There was no formal campaign opposing the ballot measure, though during the 2023 legislative session, some Republican lawmakers voted against a ballot measure.

Their main concerns were over the measure placing control of lottery money in the hands of an advisory council rather than the Legislature. They also raised concerns about language limiting the fund’s use for local wastewater treatment projects.

Originally Published: November 5, 2024 at 11:12 PM CST