Today ends week eleven of Minnesota’s legislative session.
Passing a state budget is the top priority for the remainder of the session, which is set to end on May 19. The deadline to pass a budget is July 1, or government services are at risk of being shut down.
On March 21, Gov. Tim Walz revised his two-year budget plan. Walz’s updated budget cuts $162 million in the proposed 2026-2027 budget and $250 million in the proposed 2028-2029 budget. Notably, the new budget reduces projected state spending on Medicaid waivers that serve more than 70,000 low-income Minnesotans with disabilities, and it reduces or eliminates dozens of programs and grants across state government.
House Rep. David Gottfried (D-Shoreview) took the oath of office March 17 to fill the vacant District 40B seat. The addition of Gottfried returned the House chamber to a 67-67 tie. In the Senate, Sen. Justin Eichorn (R-Grand Rapids) resigned on March 20. A special election to fill the vacant District 6 Senate seat will be held on April 29, following a special primary on April 15. Senate democrats hold a two-vote, 34-32 advantage, pending special election results.
Below are the bills we are monitoring so far.
We welcome your input. Feel free to be in touch about these or any other bills you feel are important to rural communities. I can be reached at [email protected] or 507.581.8545.
Let your voice be known.
It’s critical that legislators hear from the people they represent. We encourage you to get involved in the legislative process by communicating with elected officials about the issues you care about. If you don’t know who your legislators are, you can find them at this link.
Members of the general public can and are encouraged to testify before committees. This needs to be arranged with committee staff assigned to the bill prior to a scheduled hearing. Email addresses can be found here by clicking on the specific committee within the House or Senate.
Energy and environment
Senate File (SF) 441 – Support: This bill, brought by Sen. Coleman, creates a temporary income tax credit for the purchase and installation of solar energy systems. This credit would apply to classifications of business property and homesteads, including agricultural homesteads. This bill was heard on Jan. 30 in the Committee on Taxes. It was amended and laid over. Laying over a bill delays its consideration. It will be heard again in the committee at a later date.
House File (HF) 771 and SF 486 – Support: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Kraft and Sen. Dibble, appropriate money for a supplemental energy assistance program to provide financial support to complement Minnesota’s Energy Assistance Program (EAP) and the income-qualified Minnesotans whom it helps. The House bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Energy Finance and Policy. The Senate bill was heard on Feb. 5 in the Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate and laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill.
HF 9 and SF 572 – Monitor: These companion bills, brought separately by Rep. Swedzinski in the House and Sen. Mathews in the Senate, allow hydroelectric facilities of any capacity and age to qualify under the renewable energy standard; delay the deadline by three years for electric utilities to meet standards set in the 100% clean electricity law; prohibits the demolition of fossil fuel-powered electric generating plants; make it a policy of the state to support the development and deployment of carbon capture and sequestration technologies; and expand the sales tax exemption for residential heating fuels and electricity.
Notably, this legislation lifts the nuclear moratorium and aims to delay many standards set in the 100% clean electricity law passed in 2023, which committed all utilities to provide their Minnesota customers with 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040.
The House bill was heard on Feb. 26 by the Committee on Taxes and was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. The Senate bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate.
HF 1073 and SF 733 – Support: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Hansen and Sen. Kunesh, lay out the responsibilities for abandoning a pipeline, including a timeline and land restoration planning, and require the approval of an abandonment plan prior to disconnecting the pipeline’s service, which includes mandatory public hearings. While the industry uses the term “pipeline abandonment” when they wish to end use, the equipment needs to be decommissioned and removed to restore the land where the pipeline was sited. This legislation would ensure proper decommissioning of a pipeline and make sure that landowners do not get stuck removing pipeline infrastructure.
The House bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Transportation Finance and Policy. The Senate bill was heard on March 19 by the Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate and was referred to the Committee on Environment, Climate, and Legacy.
HF 1013 and SF 761 – Support: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Kraft and Sen. Xiong, appropriate $5 million from the renewable development account in the special revenue fund to Minnesota Energy Alley, an initiative to secure the state's energy and economic development future. The money from the grant may be used to establish and support the initiative, provide seed funding for businesses, develop a training and development program, support recruitment of entrepreneurs to Minnesota, and secure funding from federal programs and corporate partners to establish a self-sustaining, long-term revenue model. The House bill was heard on March 18 by the Committee on Energy Finance and Policy and laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill. The Center submitted a comment in support. The Senate bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate.
HF 880 and SF 997 – Monitor: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Rymer and Sen. Koran, require community solar garden subscribers to reside in the same county as the solar garden generating facility. Currently, a community solar garden subscriber must only be located in the Minnesota service territory of the utility operating the solar garden. The House bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Energy Finance and Policy. The Senate bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate.
HF 845 and SF 1142 – Oppose: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Baker and Sen. Rarick, modify Minnesota’s current net metering law. Under current law, if your home or business currently generates excess electricity from solar panels on your property, you qualify for what is known as net metering. Net metering is a policy where utilities credit customers for excess electric generation, reducing the customer’s bill while providing the utility with low-cost electricity. These bills seek to lower the rate of compensation.
Under current net metering policy, people with solar arrays under 40 kW get paid the retail electric rate for any energy they send to the grid. This bill would reduce payments by switching to an avoided cost rate for projects under 40 kW in municipal and cooperative utilities territories. The retail electric rate is the price consumers pay for electricity, which includes the wholesale cost of electricity plus fees for transmission, distribution, taxes, and regulatory charges, all based on usage. The avoided cost rate is the minimum financial amount that an electric utility is required to pay an independent power producer. Since it only accounts for the cost of generating power, the avoided cost rate is usually significantly lower than the retail rate a customer pays.
Net metering has given opportunities for rural communities to participate in distributed power generation. This bill would unfairly compensate homeowners, farmers, and small businesses who made the choice to take control of their energy future with solar and discourage others from choosing solar to lower their energy costs. Moreover, this bill would reduce the amount of homegrown energy we can generate locally in Minnesota.
The House bill was heard on March 11 by the House Floor and was laid on the table. This means that further consideration of the bill is postponed, effectively killing it for the current legislative session unless a motion is made to take it off the table. The Senate bill was heard on March 10 by the Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate, which laid the bill over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill.
HF 1588 and SF 2377 – Support: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Mekeland and Sen. Mathews, appropriate $6.5 million in 2026 from the general fund to the commissioner of employment and economic development for the community energy transition grant program. Similarly, companion bills HF 2072 and SF 2570, brought by Rep. Hill and Sen. Hauschild, appropriate $10 million in 2026 for the grant program.
The grant program provides funds for research, planning, and implementation activities to support eligible Minnesota communities with power plants fueled by coal, natural gas, or nuclear energy that are scheduled to close, have recently closed, or are due to have their operating license expire soon. The goal of this program is to help the state's "energy transition communities" minimize the negative consequences from closures and maximize opportunities for future economic growth and community well-being.
The House bills were introduced and referred to the Committee on Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy. The Senate bills were introduced and referred to the Committee on Jobs and Economic Development.
HF 1707 and SF 2664 – Monitor: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Mekeland and Sen. Mathews, require that an applicant wanting a solar project permit of any capacity must receive approval from each local unit of government and Minnesota Tribal government that has jurisdiction over the proposed site location. It further removes the requirement that a permit is issued by the Public Utilities Commission to construct a solar project with a capacity of less than 50 megawatts. The House bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Energy Finance and Policy. The Senate bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate.
HF 1738 and SF 2369 – Oppose: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Swedzinski and Sen. Mathews, repeal the renewable development account and end a solar energy production incentive program.
The Renewable Development Account, also known as the Renewable Development Fund, was established in 1994 when Xcel Energy was given permission to store nuclear waste at its Prairie Island plant in southeastern Minnesota, and for further storage at its Monticello plant that was added in 2007. For each waste cask used, Xcel gives the state between $350,000 and $500,000 annually. Each year, Xcel must set aside money for the fund in accordance with state statute. Money from the fund comes from Xcel electric customers in Minnesota and Wisconsin after grant awards are approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for the development of renewable energy sources in Minnesota.
The Renewable Energy Account funds Xcel Energy’s Solar*Rewards program, which provides incentives for solar energy systems, with a focus on low-income and income-qualified projects. Customers who install solar panels receive payments for the energy their systems produce in exchange for Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). Additionally, all Solar*Rewards customers receive net energy metering benefits. These companion bills would halt the program.
The House bill was heard on March 4 by the Committee on Energy Finance and Policy. The Committee approved the bill by an 8-7 party-line vote and sent it to the Committee on Ways and Means. The Senate bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate.
HF 2103 & SF 1710 – Support: These companion bills, brought by Rep. P.H. Anderson and Sen. Putnam, appropriate $9 million from the general fund to the commissioner of commerce for a grant to the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (MRETS). This funding allows MRETS to deploy technology that enables the tracking of tradable ammonia, hydrogen, and renewable energy certificates, creating a system to ensure there is no double counting of energy certificates and maximizing the benefits of the program by ensuring funds are distributed more broadly.
This legislation assists in facilitating local investments in fertilizer production, reducing the financial impacts on the state’s farms and farm businesses. Local production reduces costs associated with transportation while creating local economic development opportunities in rural areas. Having a system to track certificates is important to spread benefits across the state, especially to rural areas.
The House bill was heard on March 27 by the Committee on Energy Finance and Policy and was laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill. The Senate bill was heard on March 5 by the Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate and was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill. The Center submitted a comment in support.
HF 2297 & SF 2653 – Support: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Myers and Sen. Kupec, define agrivoltaics, a practice of combining solar energy production with agricultural activities on the same land, and create a special license plate to self fund the Minnesota’s Board of Water and Soil Resources solar pollinator program. The program supports the establishment of habitat for pollinators, songbirds and other species in addition to project co-benefits such as water management, grazing and soil health.
Solar grazing, pollinator habitat, and growing crops under solar panels are all examples of agrivoltaics. The practice offers farmers financial stability an option to diversify income through land lease payments for solar projects while stewarding land through practices that offer environmental benefits, such as reduced water consumption and improved crop resilience.
Defining the term agrivoltaics in legislation is important for clarity, consistency, and to avoid ambiguity, which ensures laws are understood and applied uniformly, and that the public can understand their rights and responsibilities.
The House bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Energy Finance and Policy. The Senate bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate.
Economic and community development
SF 29, SF 217, and SF 478 – Support: Seeking the same outcome, these bills—brought by Sens. Nelson, Jasinski, and Housley, respectively—appropriate $25 million from the bond proceeds fund to the commissioner of transportation for the Small Cities Assistance program. This program supplies road aid to smaller Minnesota cities; eligibility is limited to cities that are not receiving municipal state-aid street funds, which generally means the city must have a population of under 5,000. There has not yet been any effort to reconcile the redundant legislation. SF 29 and SF 478 were introduced and referred to the Committee on Capital Investment. SF 217 was introduced and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
HF 1360 and SF 2203 – Support: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Koegel and Sen. Pappas, appropriate $2.5 million in 2026 and $2.5 million in 2027 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to fund the Empowering Small Minnesota Communities Program. This program provides technical assistance to small Minnesota communities and local government units to develop resilient, sustainable, and adaptable infrastructure projects. Examples of infrastructure projects include physical systems like broadband, housing, and energy systems as well as community-oriented projects that encourage social connection, like health care, education, and recreation. Under this program, small communities are defined as local jurisdictions of fewer than 15,000 people. The House bill was heard on March 19 by the Committee on Higher Education Finance and Policy and was re-referred to the Committee on Transportation Finance and Policy. The Senate bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Higher Education.
HF 1552 and SF 843 – Support: These bills, brought by Sen. Hauschild and Rep. Skraba, allow for more rapid expansion of broadband services by increasing the cap on the Lower Population Density Grant Program from 75% of the total cost of a project to 90%.
As part of Minnesota’s Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program, projects located in unserved or underserved areas of the state are eligible to apply for funding from the Lower Population Density Grant Program to expand broadband access. With some stipulations, eligible applicants include incorporated businesses or partnerships, political subdivisions, Tribes, nonprofit organizations, cooperative associations, or limited liability corporations. The House bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Agriculture Finance and Policy. The Senate bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development.
HF 1655 and SF 2050 – Support: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Pursell and Sen. Nelson, appropriates $627,000 from the general fund to the commissioner of employment and economic development for a grant to Community and Economic Development Associates (CEDA) to provide funding for economic development technical assistance and economic development project grants to small communities across rural Minnesota. This would also allow CEDA to design, implement, market, and administer specific types of basic community and economic development programs tailored to individual community needs. Of the amount appropriated, up to $270,000 may be used for economic development project implementation in conjunction with the technical assistance received.
The House bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy. The Senate bill was heard on March 10 by the Committee on Jobs and Economic Development, but no action was taken.
HF 2099 and SF 2119 – Support: These companion bills, brought by Rep. Johnson, P. and Sen. Kupec, appropriates of $12 million in 2026 and $12 million in 2027 from the general fund to the commissioner of public safety to distribute local emergency management funding to emergency management departments in all 87 counties, 11 federally recognized Tribes, and four cities of the first class (defined by a population of over 100,000 people) for planning and preparedness activities, including capital purchases. The funds would be distributed evenly among the eligible counties, Tribes, and cities. Funds must be used for emergency management and preparedness activities, including but not limited to planning, training, equipment purchases, infrastructure improvements, and addressing emerging threats.
The House bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Public Safety Finance and Policy. The Senate bill was heard on March 24 by the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety and was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill.
