2 weeks Ago By Mary Murphy
ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Legislature had a busy week before letting out for its annual break on Friday, April 11.Teachers urge pension and retirement reform The Suburban Solutions Caucus (SSC) presented two teacher pension reform proposals during a hearing before the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement on Tuesday, April 8.
HF2318 would make teachers eligible for early retirement benefits at 60 years old instead of 62 and HF2329 would allow retirees who are at least 62 to receive their pension without any reductions.“Our education system is going to pay for this regardless, one way or the other,” Rep. Danny Nadeau, R-Rogers.
“We can either create options for retention and recruitment in our education system, respect the promises that we've made to teachers, or we can do nothing, and our education system will pay for it with larger class sizes, higher activity fees, less options.” Republicans are proposing funding these pension changes through Q-Comp — an alternative teacher pay system — and through HF2201, which would preserve free breakfast for all students while asking families of four earning more than $156,000 to cover the cost of lunches.The bills, authored by members of the caucus, were laid over for possible inclusion in a larger omnibus pension bill.
Senate hears a pitch to tax social media apps The Senate Taxes Committee heard a bill Wednesday to tax social media apps, a move that the author said would be the first in the nation.SF3197, sponsored by Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, would tax social media companies with over 100,000 Minnesota consumers, according to the bill draft.
Companies with between 100,000 and 500,000 Minnesota users would pay 10 cents per month per Minnesota customer. Platforms with between 500,000 and 1 million Minnesota customers would be charged $40,000 per month plus 25 cents per month for every Minnesota user over 500,000. Companies with more than 1 million Minnesota consumers would be taxed $165,000 per month plus 50 cents per consumer over 1 million, according to the bill language.
“As the first state to do this, Minnesota would become a model for the rest of the country,” Rest said in a press release. “The substantial money generated for our state will come from people like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who have accumulated vast wealth by taking data from Minnesotans and selling it. No Minnesotan will be taxed under this plan and every penny raised will help us balance our state’s budget.
”The Minnesota Department of Revenue estimates that the tax, which would begin in 2026, would apply to 14 social media companies, would generate nearly $46 million in the first fiscal year, and just under $100 million annually after.The social media tax was laid over for possible inclusion in the final tax bill.House advances public safety omnibus bill The House Public Safety Committee passed HF2432 on Thursday, the Public Safety’s omnibus budget bill, including $50 million in additional funding for 2026-27.
This public safety bill allocates over $1.63 billion for the Department of Corrections for fiscal years 2026–27, with funding designated for incarceration services, community supervision and housing initiatives for individuals leaving prison, according to the bill draft. It also invests more than $555 million in public safety agencies, including the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, emergency communications, fire services, emergency management and justice programs.
“This is a good bill that reflects strong collaboration between our two caucuses,” Kelly Moller, DFL-Shoreview, co-chair of the Public Safety Committee, said in a press release. “In a year that has been defined by chaos, I’m happy that we could work effectively together. I look forward to continuing to push for the strongest provisions of this bill in conference committee” Additional funding includes nearly $25 million for peace officer training — $11 million of which goes to the Philando Castile Memorial Training Fund — and targeted grants for use-of-force education, clemency review outreach, tribal supervision and victims of crime.
The bill is on its way to the Ways and Means Committee.Bills in motionThe week marked the last days for lawmakers to meet the April 11 deadline for fiscal impact bills to move out of committee of origin. These “omnibus bills” represent how much from the general fund each committee can spend on bills in fiscal years 2026-27.
House HF2443: The House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee passed its omnibus bill Thursday, which allocates $79.72 million for the Department of Commerce and $75.8 million for the Office of Cannabis Management.
This bill now heads to Ways and Means.HF1027: The House passed a bill 134-0 to provide mortgage foreclosure redemptions and surpluses on Thursday. The bill now heads to the Senate.
HF2434: The House Human Services Finance and Policy Committee passed its committee’s omnibus bill on Thursday, which includes $300 million in cuts. The bill now heads to the Ways and Means Committee.HF1943: The House Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee passed its omnibus bill on Wednesday, which allocates $3.
86 million in spending, largely to the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. The bill now heads to Ways and Means.HF2783: The House State Government Finance and Policy Committee passed its omnibus bill appropriating $1.
35 billion to state government, including the legislature, commissions and state councils on Thursday. The bill now heads to Ways and Means.Senate SF1346: The Senate passed a bill on Thursday 63-0 to protect commercial lake divers.
The bill now heads to the governor's desk for signing.SF2216: The Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee passed its omnibus budget bill on Thursday, appropriating roughly $80 million. The bill now heads to the Finance Committee.
SF2149: The Senate Labor Committee unanimously passed a bill to make exceptions for safe and sick time for certain employers. The bill now heads to the Finance Committee.SF1360: Gov.
Tim Walz signed SF1360 on Thursday, increasing the speed limit for implements of husbandry (vehicles used for agriculture) to 35 miles per hour.SF2483: The Senate Higher Education Committee passed its omnibus bill appropriating roughly $750 million. The bill now heads to the finance committee.
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