GMNP Update - April 25, 2025

GMNP UPDATE - 4/25/2025

Dear GMNP Members,

Happy Friday! The legislature is back from their break and headed into the final stretch of the 2025 session. Most omnibus bills have made their way through committees and are headed to the floor, with a few already passed off their respective floor. 

Housing

The Senate passed their housing omnibus bill on Tuesday. While the bill doesn't have many new investments, it does allot $2 million of their $3 million target to the Greater Minnesota Housing Infrastructure grant program. The Senate and House bills also included the policy language we advocated for to tweak the State Housing Tax Credit to allow it to stack with the Greater Minnesota Workforce Housing Development program.

The House Housing Committee was given a much larger target and their bill makes significant investments in Greater Minnesota's housing needs, with:

• $20 million for the Greater Minnesota Housing Infrastructure Grant program;
• An additional $10 million for the Greater Minnesota Workforce Housing Development program;
• An additional $10 million for the Challenge program; and
• $100 million in HIB bonds.

The House Housing omnibus bill still contains a revised version of the "Say Yes to Housing" package. You can find that language starting at line 12.22 in H.F. 2445.  I met with both House chairs this week to discuss this language, and they are both open to revisions to ensure that the final outcome does not disadvantage Greater Minnesota funding applications. We'll continue to work with both chairs as this bill moves forward.

Finally, I want to say thank you for everyone who has advocated for these important investments. If you haven't connected with your elected officials yet about the importance of housing in Greater Minnesota, now would be a great time to do so. Thank the House for making key investments and urge the Senate to follow their lead. We still have so much work to do to ensure that Greater Minnesota has the housing needed to support vibrant, thriving communities.

Business and Community Development

Another notable development this week was that the Senate Jobs omnibus bill moved through the Senate Finance Committee. Before the break, I had gotten a heads up that the Senate needed to find $14 million and was looking at making cuts to key economic development programs to balance their bill. Thank you to everyone who reached out over the break to remind lawmakers why these programs are critical; I'm pleased to share that the Senate did not make cuts to any of the key programs we identified. Instead, the Senate trimmed the Minnesota Forward Fund funding by $14 million, a reasonable choice that's unlikely to have a major impact on the program given the program's balance of $120 million. 

I'm expecting to see the Senate Jobs bill and the House Housing bill to be heard on the floor early next week. Now is a great time to reach out to your elected officials - it makes a huge difference. You can find contact information for your lawmakers here and talking points about key programs here. 

As always, please reach out with any questions at darielle@gmnp.org or (612) 991-5744.

Sincerely, 

Darielle Dannen

Executive Director, Greater Minnesota Partnership

GMNP MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: DIGIKEY

GMNP member DigiKey was featured on NPR this week for a story discussing the impact of tariffs on their business and the community of Thief River Falls. Click here to read or listen to the story, which highlights some of the real impacts that national policy has had on Minnesota communities. 

SIGNIFICANT HAPPENINGS THIS WEEK

Tuesday, April 22

• Senate Floor: Heard S.F. 2298, the Senate Housing omnibus bill. The bill passed with minimal amendments, none of which affected the priorities we've been tracking this session. Members discussed their disappointment that the bill didn't include any of the land use and zoning changes in the "Say Yes to Housing" package, but no amendments were offered to add that language to the bill. As a reminder, the Senate Housing omnibus bill includes $2 million for the Greater Minnesota Housing Infrastructure program for FY26-27 and $500,000 in ongoing base funding for the program beginning in FY28. Those appropriations are notable in a year when the budget target for the committee was just $3 million for FY26-27 and $1 million for FY28-29.
• House Ways and Means: Discussed H.F. 2445, the House Housing omnibus bill. There was a substantial discussion about the language amended into the bill directing Minnesota Housing to add some of the zoning and land use proposals from the "Say Yes to Homes" package to their scoring criteria for competitive funding. The language wasn't removed, but several members shared their concerns, including Rep. Ginny Klevorn (DFL-Plymouth), Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL-Minnetonka), Rep. Kristin Robbins (R-Maple Grove), and Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover). The bill was laid over to be amended onto the Senate bill.

Thursday, April 24

• Senate Finance: S.F. 1832, the Jobs omnibus bill, was heard in Senate Finance. The Committee adopted a notable amendment which cut $14 million in funding from the Minnesota Forward Fund. We had been concerned that the $14 million would come from other key competitive economic development programs with much lower balances than the Minnesota Forward Fund, which has a balance of more than $120 million. Thanks to all who reached out over the legislative break to remind lawmakers why key programs like redevelopment grants, cleanup funds, BDPI, MIF, and JCF are important tools and should not bet cut. 
• House Ways & Means: Substituted the language of H.F. 2445 (the House Housing omnibus) into the Senate companion bill, S.F. 2298, to be heard on the House floor. The Committee also heard H.F. 2436, the Children & Families omnibus bill. Rep. Dave Pinto (DFL-St. Paul) spoke up in committee about the video camera provisions and shared his opinion that child care centers and family child care providers should be subject to the same rules regardless of setting. The bill was laid over to be included in the Health omnibus.

HEARINGS & FLOOR SESSION

KEY DATES/COMMITTEE DEADLINES

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions or want to discuss anything further, please feel free to reach out at darielle@gmnp.org or (651) 295-1908.

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