Taxes

Business priorities

• No new business taxes
• R&D tax credit is partially refundable
• Data centers sales tax incentives extended 
   

Policies we opposed

• 5th tier income tax
• New corporate taxes
• Sales tax expansion
• Social media tax
• New limits on carrying over losses
   

Outcomes

• No new business taxes
• R&D tax credit is partially refundable
• Data centers sales tax incentives extended

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Environment

Business priorities

• Environmental permitting reform
• Scaling back chemical regulations
   

Policies we opposed

• A new tax on the manufacture, import, or sale of anything with a cord, battery, or circuit board in Minnesota
• New authority to require air dispersion modeling
• New authority to cite and fine environmental consultants
• Establishing an “inherent right” of wild rice to exist.
  (Not just protections for wild rice. A right to exist.)
   

Outcomes

• Permitting reforms!
  • Makes fixes to determining ‘completeness’ of permit applications
  • Clarifies reporting requirements
  • Streamlines process to undergo environmental review for big projects
  • Creates report on DNR and local government use of watershed extensions
  • Clarifies that local permitting for feedlots can occur simultaneously with MPCA process
  • Creates additional incentives for MPCA to process permits
• Chemical regulations:
  • Products containing “intentionally added” PFAS are exempt from ban if internal components do not have direct contact with individuals’ skin or mouth
  • Lead and cadmium exempted from ban for certain writing materials (e.g., pens, mechanical pencils, artist materials and solders)
  • Lead and cadmium in key – California standard and delay on implementation

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Workplace mandates

Business priorities

• Fixes to Earned Sick and Safe Time
  • Repeal the “more generous PTO” change
  • Address misuse and workability concerns
  • Allow pro-rating for frontloading hours
  • Relief for new businesses and small business
• Fixes to Paid Family Medical Leave
  • Program launch delay
  • Limit scope and improve program integrity
  • Reduced total number of weeks
  • Tightened definition of "family"
  • Reduced weekly benefit formula
  • Reduced payroll tax cap
  • Encourage viability and function of private plans
  • Seasonal employee fix
  • Reasonable exemptions
     

Policies we opposed

• Unemployment Insurance for striking workers
• Increasing Minnesota’s minimum wage to $15/hour in 2025 and increasing to $20/hour by 2029
• Employers required to disclose in job postings whether employee health plan options comply with state cost-sharing limits
• Collective bargaining rights for transportation network company drivers
• Removal of employee classification safe harbor
• Additional tax enactment on certain corporations with high principal executive officer to median worker pay ratios
• Rebuttable presumption that an individual is an employee
• Holiday overtime pay requirement
• “Stay-or-pay” provisions prohibition
   

Outcomes

• “Administrative” modifications to the sick and safe time mandate regarding notice, documentation and advancing hours
• A reduction in the paid family and medical leave mandate’s payroll tax cap to 1.1%, down from 1.2%
• No new workplace mandates

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Health care

Business priorities

• Reinsurance continuation
• No new health insurance mandates
• No new health insurance / health care taxes
• Increased federal Medicaid funding for hospitals
• No public option
   

Policies we opposed

• 9 new health insurance mandates
• Many new health care/insurance regulations
• Several new or increased health care / health insurance taxes
   

Outcomes

• Reinsurance continued for 2026 & 2027
• New authority for hospitals to draw down increased Medicaid funds to offset commercial payer costs
• Public Option authority repealed
• No new health insurance mandates
• “Frozen Formulary” requirement only new HC reg to pass, limiting controls for prescription drug costs
• One new assessment on health insurers passed, raising insurance costs roughly $1.7 million a year

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Energy

Business priorities and outcomes

• Lift moratorium on new nuclear power generation (not passed)
• Protect rate payers against new mandates (not passed)

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Housing

Business priorities and outcomes

• Bipartisan work on reducing mandates (not passed)

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Transportation

Business priorities

• Protect General Fund support for roads and bridges
• Increase Electric Vehicles' (EV) financial contribution to transportation
• Delay the Greenhouse Gas / Vehicle Miles Traveled mitigation requirement
• Continued development of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Minnesota
   

Policies we opposed

• Statewide ban on billboards
• Clean Fuel Standard
   

Outcomes

• Auto Parts transfer from GF to transportation was cut
• EVs will pay increased registration fee; new tax on public charging stations
• GHG/VMT not delayed, but definition of "mitigation" projects expanded
• No additional support for SAF

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