Lawmakers approved a trio of local sales tax provisions for Mankato and North Mankato Sunday night even as they approved a moratorium on similar sales taxes for the next two years.

The approval came after Gov. Tim Pawlenty agreed to allow the local sales taxes into the budget deal that brought the 2008 legislative session to an end.

For Mankato, it means a seven-year extension of the existing half-percent sales tax to 2022 and a new 1 percent tax on meals, drinks and entertainment tickets. In North Mankato, it’s a long-awaited half-percent tax to fund a variety of improvement projects.

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