When the Minnesota House adjourned late on May 23, the last item of business was spending $450 million over the next two years in so-called Legacy money. But House Republicans and DFLers, already in a political fight over just about everything else, never voted on the money that night for the outdoors, clean water, parks and trails and arts and cultural heritage. Money for the Legacy fund comes from a state sales tax increase that Minnesotans approved in 2008, and which goes until 2034. With Minnesota facing a $5 billion overall budget deficit, the Legacy money represented some of the only new state spending. As legislators began a special session Tuesday, a new Legacy bill was unveiled that differed only slightly from the legislation debated in May. Among the bill's highlights is a new $2.65 million per year competitive grant program for public radio stations in Minnesota that would replace direct funding to stations such as Minnesota Public Radio. Another feature would leave unchanged open meeting requirements for the Lesssard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, an advisory group that recommends Legacy money for outdoors projects. Legislators had unsuccessfully sought the change so that council members could communicate more freely by email and also go to dinner without officially constituting a quorum. The proposed open meeting law change had led to a protracted debate on the House floor on the Legislature's final night in May, and stalled a final vote on the overall Legacy funding.