Legislative Scorecard:

2002 - Roller Coaster Session

Minnesota voters value pure water, green space, woods and the wildlife that make our state so special. But our values took a real roller coaster ride during the 2002 session as election-year wrangling and deficit politics roared through the House, Senate and Governor's office.

The session took off on a strong environmental note as a well-organized coalition delivered policy initiatives to improve water quality by restricting phosphorus fertilizers and expanding citizen monitoring. Years of hard work by Northern Minnesota residents also paid off when legislators voted to curtail use of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) in state forests.

On the policy downside, programs to protect human health met with only limited success. A number of creative new initiatives were stymied, including efforts to address the overuse of livestock antibiotics, cut childhood asthma and monitor pesticide pollution in drinking water.

Things appeared to be on an upswing when both the Senate and House produced carefully crafted bonding bills that included badly needed investments for parks, reforestation, stream restoration and fisheries. The ride turned rocky, however, when attempts to build a sound transportation system with choices such as transit — not just bigger highways — were derailed by rampant election year politics.

The session jolted to an abrupt halt when Governor Ventura vetoed nearly all of the hard-earned environmental funding sent to him as part of a final bonding bill passed in the closing hours of session.

Download full 2002 Legislative Scorecard