Since convening on Monday, January 31, the Minnesota Legislature has hit the ground running with nearly 40 hearings between the two bodies. The majority of the hearings have been informational and many chairs invited state agencies to present on a range
of topics. DEED presented on the state of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, the Capital Investment Committee heard from seven leaders of State Agencies about the Governor's bonding recommendations, and numerous committees heard presentations
on the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Minnesota Management and Budget walked through the November Economic Forecast and anticipates the February Forecast will be released on Monday, February 28. The February Forecast will establish
the final budget numbers used by the Legislature when passing any tax or fiscal legislation. It is not expected that the February Forecast will change the $7.7 billion budget surplus substantially.
Precinct caucus events took place on Tuesday night. With no DFL challenger to Governor Tim Walz all eyes were on the Republican caucuses and gubernatorial straw poll. Former state Senator Scott Jensen was the clear favorite, winning 38% of the vote. Former
Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka came in second with 14%. Jensen has raised $1.2 million, more than twice the $546,000 raised by Gazelka.
In March 2021, the state judicial branch launched free online access to district court cases and since then, more than 3 million documents have been downloaded. The Courts released plans to impose a $8 fee per online document obtained, which has generated
objections from open records advocates and the media. Rep. Kristin Robbins (R-Maple Grove) introduced a bill, HF 3041, to eliminate this fee.
There was a flurry of activity around Workers' Compensation legislation, which culminated in passage of the Workers' Compensation Advisory Council (WCAC) bill by both the House and Senate on Thursday, February 3. The DFL-controlled House had fast tracked
separate legislation that would have created a new COVID-19 presumption, effective retroactively to January 1, 2022. The previous COVID-19 presumption expired on December 31, 2021. The bill, HF 2656 (Wolgamott—DFL, St. Cloud), passed committee on
a party-line vote on the first day of session, and was scheduled to be debated on the House floor on Thursday. Republicans objected to the passage of WC legislation that had not been approved by the WCAC, while Democrats claimed it was necessary to
force the WCAC to take quick action to reinstate the lapsed COVID-19 presumption.
The WCAC met on Tuesday, February 1 and passed a recommendation that established a new COVID-19 presumption effective upon passage of the legislation, and included technical changes agreed upon by all parties. The Senate and House both quickly passed
the bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. Democrats indicated their desire to pass an additional bill that would fix a so-called "donut hole" caused by the gap between the expired presumption and the new legislation. They argue that any worker
who contracted COVID-19 during that period should be covered by WC without having to go through the normal claims process. New legislation will likely be introduced in the next week and the debate over this issue continue.
Below is the MDLA tracking list of legislation for the 2021-2022 biennium. All bills that were introduced in 2021 and not passed into law or defeated by a vote of either body may be acted upon in 2022. Bills that were on the floor of either body but not
acted upon are returned to the last committee that acted upon them. The House has a pre-filing period and introduced the first bills of 2022 on January 24. The Senate does not have a pre-filing period.
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Senate File
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House File
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Bill Summary
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Committee Status
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HF 1203
(Howe)
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HF 1203 (Wolgamott)
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Extending a COVID-19 workers compensation
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House: Pass House Feb. 3 (124-8)
Senate: Pass Senate Feb. 3 (66-0)
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N/A
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HF 3041 (Robbins)
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Eliminating fees for online district court documents
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House: Refer to Judiciary
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SF 2633
(Howe)
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HF 2656 (Wolgamott)
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Creating a COVID-19 presumption for Workers' Comp claims effective January 1, 2022.
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House: Pass Labor/Industry on Jan. 31. On General Register.
Senate: Referred to Labor
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N/A
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HF 2801 (Lucero)
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Prohibiting employers from requiring or incentivizing public display of medical information
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House: Refer to Labor/Industry
Senate: N/A
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N/A
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HF 2774 (Greenman)
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Establishing worker safety requirements
(requiring restroom breaks for certain workers)
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House: Refer to Labor/Industry
Senate: N/A
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N/A
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HF 2759 (Munson)
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Providing a cause of action for employees for injuries caused by the COVID-19 vaccine
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House: Refer to Judiciary Senate: N/A
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N/A
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HF 2739 (Becker-Finn)
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Appropriations for civil legal services
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House: Refer to Judiciary
Senate: N/A
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N/A
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HF 2724 (Frazier)
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House DFL Criminal justice bill
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House: Refer to Public Safety
Senate: N/A
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SF 2721
(Port)
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HF 2711 (Wazlawik)
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Amending and adding provisions related to dispute resolution for common interest communities
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House: Refer to Commerce
Senate: Refer to Civil Law
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Bills Introduced in 2021: The status of these bills will be updated when the Legislature convenes and returns the bills to the appropriate committees.
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745
(Limmer)
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1198
(Scott)
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COVID-19 Liability protection: general
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House: Refer to Civil Law
Senate: Refer to Civil
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757
(Franzen)
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600
(Winkler)
(9th Engrossment)
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Cannabis legalization
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House: Pass House 72-61
Senate: Refer to Public Safety
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1025 (Mathews)
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803
(Sundin)
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Prohibiting indemnification agreements in construction contracts under certain circumstances
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House: Pass Labor & Refer to Civil Law
Senate: Refer to Civil Law
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719
(Bakk)
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2
(Ecklund)
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Workers Comp: Creating a presumption for certain teachers who contract COVID in the course of employment (Bill includes non-WC provisions)
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House: Refer to Labor
Senate: Refer to Labor
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105
(Clausen)
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37
(Huot)
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Workers Comp: Creating a presumption of eligibility for school employees who contracted COVID
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House: Refer to Labor
Senate: Refer to Labor
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1035 (Clausen)
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1730 (Youakim)
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Workers Comp: Creating a presumption of occupational disease for certain firefighters who contract cancer
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House: Refer to Labor
Senate: Refer to Labor
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29
(Pappas)
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7
(Olson, L)
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Employment: Statewide implementation of Earned Safe & Sick Time'
SEE: HF 1607 (Omnibus Labor Bill)
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House: Pass House 69-63 (3/25)
Senate: Refer to Labor
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841 (Champion)
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39
(Carlson)
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Employment: Rehiring and retention protections for workers laid-off during COVID emergency
SEE: HF 1607 (Omnibus Labor Bill)
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House: Pass House 70-61 (3/25).
Senate: Refer to Labor
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171 (Champion)
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403
(Her)
(1st Engrossment)
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Employment: Employers prohibited from inquiring about past pay
SEE: HF 1030 (Omnibus Judiciary Bill)
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House: Pass House 80-51 (3/25)
Senate: Refer to Civil Law
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1205
(Kent)
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1200 (Richardson)
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Employment: Paid Family Leave Act
SEE: HF 1342 (Omnibus Workforce Bill)
|
House: Heard March 24 in Workforce Finance and laid over for possible inclusion.
Senate: Refer to Labor
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512
(Benson)
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571 (Morrisson)
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COVID-19 liability protection: health care facilities
|
House: Referred to Rules
Senate: Referred to HHS
|
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712
(Utke)
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367
(Green)
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Requiring state agencies to pay disbursements to prevailing defendants in civil actions
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House: Referred to Civil Law
Senate: N/A
|
|
N/A
|
688
(Lucero)
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COVID-19 Liability protection: general
|
House: Referred to Civil Law
Senate: N/A
|
|
2230 (Pappas)
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972
(Her)
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Court interpreter pay and reimbursement increased
|
House: Heard in Civil Law and laid over for possible inclusion in omnibus bill
Senate: Refer to Judiciary Finance
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2292 (Isaacson)
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2257 (Becker-Finn)
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Changing disposition of fines and fees in Ramsey County District Court
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House: Heard in State Gov't Finance
Senate: Refer to Judiciary Finance
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N/A
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355 (Mathews)
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Creating liability and vicarious liability for critical infrastructure trespass
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House: N/A
Senate: Referred to Civil Law
|
|
N/A
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573 (Mortenson)
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Immunity for certain violations of Executive Orders
|
House: Refer to Commerce
Senate: N/A
|
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1290 (Dziedzic)
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450 (Richardson)
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Providing for a right to counsel in certain public housing eviction actions
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House: Pass Housing & Refer to Civil Law
Senate: Refer to Civil Law
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N/A
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929
(Scott)
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Reducing statutory pre-judgment interest rate
|
House: Refer to Civil Law
Senate: N/A
|
|
N/A
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930
(Scott)
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Reducing the statute of limitations from six to four years
|
House: Refer to Civil Law
Senate: N/A
|
|
N/A
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1116 (Mekeland)
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Holding businesses harmless from fines, fees, and penalties for 12 months following expiration of peacetime emergency order
|
House: Refer to Commerce
Senate: N/A
|
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1133 (Ingebrigtsen)
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1474 (Franson)
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Voiding fines and penalties for violations of COVID-19 peacetime emergency orders
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House: Refer to Public Safety
Senate: Refer to State Gov't
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2290 (Isaacson)
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2133
(Olson, L)
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Providing health insurance for certain education employees; creating private right of action for violating anti-retaliation provision
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House: Refer to Education Finance
Senate: Refer to Education Finance
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