Minnesota could have used $350 million to replace a vital bridge, but instead it went towards programs for snowmobiles, ATVs, motorboats and dirt bikes.
Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation (MRR) released a report on July 7 that reveals state officials have used gas-tax money reserved for bridge and highway construction and maintenance to benefit motorized recreation dating back to the early 1960s. The program has received $150 million over the last nine years.
The money was originally put in the hands of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which has turned around and has spent $191 million on motorboat programs since 1961, $115 million on snowmobile projects since 1973, and $18 million on ATVs since 1984.
MRR says the allocations are in violation of provisions in the Minnesota Constitution that reserve gas-tax revenues for use on highway projects. The Minnesota DNR, however, believes all of the financial moves were legit, claiming the dollars went towards necessary trail upkeep and management and enforcement efforts.
“I think it’s a beautiful plan, and I like the way it works,” Chuck Doherty, treasurer of the Minnesota United Snowmobilers Association, told the Star Tribune. “A chunk of that tax that I pay when I fill my car fixes the roads and bridges. But when I drive my snowmobile, I’m not using those roads and bridges. I’m using the trail system.”
