In 2008, during the Great Recession, Minnesotans voted by a considerable margin to amend the state constitution to increase their taxes. The state sales tax was increased by three-eighths of one percent for 25 years with the increased revenue to be dedicated to four distinct purposes.
One-third of the new revenue is constitutionally dedicated to “…the Clean Water Fund and may be spent only to protect, enhance, and restore water quality in lakes, rivers, and streams and to protect groundwater from degradation….” The constitutional amendment further provides that these funds “… must supplement traditional sources of funding for these purposes and may not be used as a substitute.”broadstreet.zone(48036);
The tax increase went into effect on July 1, 2009, and the one-third allocated to the Clean Water Fund currently amounts to just over $100 million per year. About $750 million has been spent from the fund in the eight years the increased sales
Skip to content
News and other stories about real people, places, and events in Forest Lake and nearby suburbs.