GMNP and the CGMC, along with others in the housing space, provided feedback on the draft MHFA Climate Roadmap on Monday – thank you to members who provided insights and feedback on the draft! 

 

Monday 3/2/26  

• Senate Jobs and Economic Development Committee – Heard an update about AI from the University of Minnesota: UMN Data Science and AI Hub - Senate Presentation

Tuesday 3/3/26 

• Senate Housing and Homeless Prevention Committee – Heard an overview and three bills. Libby Starling from the Federal Reserve presented an overview of “How Housing Supply Affects Affordability.”  
  • Presentation: Research Overview: How Housing Supply Affects Affordability
  • Libby shared that Land, Labor, and Lumber are the items that are primarily driving housing costs: How New Apartments Create Opportunities For All
• S.F. 3839 (Port) – Housing infrastructure bond issue and appropriation. Multiple supporters testified in support of this proposal, which would fund $200 million in HIB bonds. The bill passed out of committee and was sent to the Capital Investment Committee. GMNP sent in a letter of support.
• S.F. 4044 (Nelson) – This bill amends the State Housing Tax Credit (SHTC) so the bill works better in Greater Minnesota. Senator Nelson shared the importance of tax credits being analyzed by the Tax Expenditure Review Committee and Senator Clark shared that the credit is being studied presently, with a report expected this summer. Multiple GMNP members testified in support of the bill, including:  
  • Chad Adams, Chief Executive Officer, Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership
  • Mark Borseth, Senior Director of Community Development and Corporate Facilities, DigiKey
  • Amy Baldwin, Community Development Director, Otter Tail County
  • GMNP also shared a letter of support. The bill passed out of committee and was sent to the Tax committee.
• S.F. 2621 (Mohamed) – Constitutional Amendment proposal to increase the sales tax rate by three-eighths of one percent and dedicating the receipts for housing purposes; Homeownership opportunity fund, community and household stability fund, and rental opportunity fund establishment; fund councils establishment.
• House Housing Committee
  • H.F. 3902 (Igo) – Eligible recipients for Minnesota housing tax credit contributions modified, and credit sunset repealed. There were multiple testifiers in support of this bill including GMNP member Mark Borseth, with DigiKey. Members were generally supportive. The bill was sent to the tax committee.
  • H.F. 3895 (Igo) – Zoning authority of local governments over certain housing types limited. The bill was amended with an amendment that made some adjustments to the bill to respond to concerns but the bill remains mostly unchanged from prior versions. This is a nice summary of what the current bill does. As the bill stands now, the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) has made a determination that they are moving to being neutral on this bill – they believe the bill has been improved as much as possible. Organizations like GMNP, the CGMC, Metro Cities, and a coalition of some suburban cities are continuing to raise concerns about this bill and working to make improvements to it.
• House Workforce, Labor and Economic Development Committee – Heard the Agency’s policy bill: H.F. 3732 (Pinto). This is a DEED policy clean-up bill which repeals unfunded programs. Rep. Baker offered his support cleaning up state statutes. Rep. Pinto shared that he and staff are also working on some additional cleanup language for DEED’s programs/statutes and that members should have that language to consider soon.

Wednesday 3/4/2026  

Tuesday 3/10/26  

• Housing Finance and Policy (3:00pm) 
  
  • H.F. 3600 (Perryman) – Competitive selection processes modified for certain housing development programs.

 Additional hearings are likely to be posted throughout the week.

• S.F. 3664 (Champion) – Agency policy bill.
• S.F. 3839 (Port) – Housing infrastructure bond issue and appropriation.
• H.F. 3600 (Perryman) – Competitive selection processes modified for certain housing development programs.
• S.F. 4123 / H.F. 3895 (Port / Igo) – Zoning authority of local governments over certain housing types limited.
• S.F. 4158 (Jasinski) – BDPI bond issue and appropriation.
• S.F. 4043 / H.F. 3903 (Nelson / Igo) – Minnesota housing tax credit contributions eligible recipients modification.
• S.F. 4044 / H.F. 3902 (Nelson / Igo) – Minnesota housing tax credit contributions eligible recipients modification and credit allocations set-aside requirement provision.

Legislative Breaks:    

• Easter/Passover/Eid Recess 
  • Begins on: March 27 at 5:00 p.m. 
  • Legislative activities resume on: April 7 at 8:00 a.m. 

Committee Deadlines:   

• Friday, March 27 at 5 p.m.: Committees must act favorably on bills in the chamber of origin and committees must act favorably on bills, or companions of bills, that met the first deadline in the other body.
• Friday, April 17 at 5 p.m.: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
• Session is scheduled to end on May 18th

If you found this update helpful and are interested in learning more, make sure you join GMNP's monthly Legislative Debrief Sessions!

 

Each debrief session will feature a Capitol activity update, a review of GMNP’s policy priorities, and an open dialogue with GMNP Executive Director Darielle Dannen to hear your insights, feedback, and opportunities for increased involvement during the 2026 legislative session.

These sessions are meant to be informal discussion-based conversations among GMNP members.

 

Sessions will take place on the last Friday of each month during the legislative session (with the exception of May). All meetings will be held virtually via Zoom from 12:00pm-1:00pm.

 

Visit GMNP's event calendar on our website for details and registration.