Today, the Minnesota Senate debated and passed the Great Lakes Compact (HF 110)! The legislation passed the House on February 1.
After a short discussion, the Senate recommended that the Compact pass on a voice vote. It has a couple of procedural steps ahead now, but the bottom line is the same: Minnesota is the first state to pass the Compact!
As Dave Dempsey has pointed out before, Minnesota is the headwaters state of not only the Mississippi but also the Great Lakes. Thus, it is rather fitting that we’d pass the Compact first. Dave also has a good look at the Compact up on his blog.
Now, it is time for the seven other Great Lakes states to join us in passing the Compact.
Update: For those really interested in legislative process, this is for you: Today, the Senate debated the bill as the “Committee of the Whole” and voted to support the bill during that. Officially, that means the “final passage” of the bill will be on Thursday, during their next floor session. This is somewhat of a formality, as there will be no opportunity for amendments on Thursday and it will be, for the most part, just the up or down vote. In other words, if bads things were going to happen, it should have been today and Thursday they will officially send it to the Governor.
Update 2-15-07: The Minnesota Senate spent about 30 seconds making it official earlier today (Thursday). By a vote of 57 to 3, they gave final approval to the Compact and sent the bill on to the Governor. It is great to see such strong and swift support from the Minnesota Legislature on helping to protect Lake Superior.