SB 685

This bill reauthorizes the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000 Program until 2030, makes certain changes to the funding of stewardship programs, and funds a major land acquisitions program.

Reauthorization and changes to the stewardship program

Current law authorizes the state to incur public debt for certain conservation activities under the stewardship program, which is administered by the Department of Natural Resources. The state may incur this debt to acquire land for the state for conservation purposes and for property development activities and may award grants or state aid to certain local governmental units and nonprofit conservation organizations (NCOs) to acquire and develop land for these purposes. Current law establishes the amounts that DNR may obligate in each fiscal year through fiscal year 2025-26 for expenditure under each of five subprograms of the stewardship program.

The bill reauthorizes the stewardship program until fiscal year 2029-30 and reduces by $20,000,000 the amount that may be obligated under the program in each fiscal year beginning in fiscal year 2026-27, to $13,250,000. The bill reduces the amounts DNR may obligate in each fiscal year through fiscal year 2029-30 from $16,000,000 to $3,000,000 under the land acquisition subprogram and from $14,250,000 to $7,250,000 under the property development and local assistance subprogram. The recreational boating aids subprogram obligation limit remains the same at $3,000,000 under the bill.

Moneys obligated under the stewardship program are appropriated from the capital improvement fund (CIF) and stewardship bond proceeds are deposited into CIF. Current law provides that, in obligating moneys under the subprogram for land acquisition, DNR must set aside certain amounts to be obligated only for DNR to acquire land and to provide grants to counties for land acquisition (county forest grants). Specifically, the set-aside for DNR land acquisition each fiscal year is $1,000,000 plus the amount transferred to CIF under an appropriation that transfers from moneys received into the conservation fund for forestry activities (the forestry account) to CIF $5,000,000 in each fiscal year. The set-aside for county forest grants is equal to the amount transferred to CIF under an appropriation that transfers from the forestry account to CIF $3,000,000 in each fiscal year. Beginning in fiscal year 2026-27, the bill ends these annual transfers from the forestry account to CIF and replaces the corresponding set-aside requirements under the land acquisition subprogram with appropriations that directly fund those purposes from the conservation fund, not the stewardship program. The bill appropriates a smaller amount for each purpose: $3,000,000 each fiscal year from the conservation fund for DNR land acquisitions and $1,000,000 each fiscal year from the forestry account for county forest grants.

The bill also creates new appropriations from the forestry account to add funding for three programs currently funded only under the stewardship program. Specifically, beginning in fiscal year 2026-27, the bill appropriates from the forestry account to DNR $5,000,000 for DNR property development and $2,000,000 for local assistance grants and, for grants to NCOs, $4,000,000 to acquire and develop property for certain conservation purposes and $1,000,000 for habitat restoration.

The bill creates an appropriation from moneys that DNR receives from NCOs and governmental units as reimbursement from the proceeds of a property sale for any stewardship grant received to acquire that property, to be used for the payment of principal on outstanding public debt incurred under the stewardship program.

Major land acquisitions program

The bill creates both a GPR appropriation and an appropriation authorizing the state to contract public debt, both for the purpose of funding a major land acquisitions program.