Minnesota Agencies

The task force will take input from stakeholder groups and the public on how Minnesota can realign the state's current environmental protection programs - which are currently spread throughout several agencies, departments, and boards - into a new organizational structure designed to be more cost-effective and consumer-friendly.

Senator Olson has championed an effort to reform these agencies and programs for the past several years. Last session (2010), the Senate approved her proposal to form an advisory committee on the issue, which would have been made up of appointees from the governor and Legislature. However, the provision was not adopted by a House-Senate conference committee.

In a letter to Senator Olson, state Sen. Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul, chair of the Senate's Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Budget Division, said the proposal still had the support of the Senate, adding that it would be worthwhile to "continue to study these matters" before the start of the 2011 Legislative Session.
(The above paragraphs are taken from a Senate press release dated 8/6/10)

Senators Mary Olson, DFL-Bemidji; Tom Saxhaug, DFL - Grand Rapids; Dan Skogen, DFL-Hewitt; Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis