The hundreds of millions of dollars now being spent annually in Legacy money is being adequately monitored, but there are ongoing concerns whether it is simply replacing money lost to budget cuts and going to groups that have conflicts of interest, Minnesota's legislative auditor said Wednesday. In a new report examining Legacy spending, which was approved by voters in 2008, Legislative Auditor James Nobles said that there were questions whether, despite a constitutional requirement, the money was being used to "supplement" spending or was simply seen as a substitute for funds eliminated by budget cuts. The report added that the Legacy spending has shown "that there can be significant differences of opinion about what constitutes a conflict of interest." Part of the problem, the report said, is that the state's conflict of interest laws and policies "vary to some degree" and contribute to the confusion. The Clean Water Council, the report stated, was the only group helping to disperse Legacy money "that had not paid close attention to conflict of interest concerns." The report added that the council "asserted that conflict of interest concerns are not relevant" for the panel because it funds "broad programs" and not specific projects. Following an intense voter campaign bankrolled in part by Alida Messinger, Gov. Mark Dayton's former wife, the Legacy amendment won overwhelming approval from voters in November 2008 who wanted to make sure important arts and outdoors projects were funded. The amendment authorized an increase in state sales taxes by three-eighths of one percent, beginning and 2009 and continuing for a quarter-century until 2034. Thirty-three percent of the money goes to clean water projects, another 33 percent to outdoors projects, 19.75 percent to arts and cultural heritage projects and 14.25 percent to parks and trails projects. At a time when the state has faced a series of numbing budget deficits, the Legacy money has amounted to one of the only uninterrupted supplies of new taxpayer money in Minnesota. In fiscal year 2010, the first year the sales tax money was collected, the Legacy amendment raised roughly $230 million. As the debate has continued over how to help fund a new Minnesota Vikings stadium, some politicians – including Dayton – have briefly explored using Legacy money. In some cases, Legacy money has been used to fund small, off-beat projects -- $7,000 was spent to study the history of a Jewish long-term health care system, and $4,620 was spent to catalog 7,500 black-and-white photos taken from 1955 to 1957 of nearly every home in Richfield. The Legacy money however has in some circles become politically charged, and led to allegations that its distribution was tainted by conflicts of interests. At the Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, an advisory body created to recommend Legacy outdoors spending, Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, said he was removed from the panel earlier this year for not supporting questionable projects. House Majority Leader Matt Dean also caused a stir in May when he called Neil Gaiman, a noted author, a "pencil-necked little weasel who stole $45,000 from the state of Minnesota" after Legacy money was used to pay Gaiman a speaking fee. The conflict of interest rules governing the Lessard Sams panel have also come under scrutiny. While the rules require a panel member to disclose a conflict, simply belonging to a group being recommended by the panel for Legacy money is not considered a conflict. While Scott Rall served on the Lessard Sams panel, recommending that $30 million be given to Pheasants Forever, Rall also served as president of the Nobles County Pheasants Forever chapter and Pheasants Forever named him its Minnesota Volunteer of the Year.