Uniting business voices for legislative action

By Doug Loon
President and CEO
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce

I'm coming to you this week after the conclusion of this year's Minnesota Chamber-hosted Business Day at the Capitol. This is an annual program where business leaders from across the state – our members, local chambers, and other trade associations – gather at the Capitol to meet with and learn about key issues facing the business community.

We met this morning, heard from some legislators, and had some chats about key issues that I’ll get to shortly. Then we had a good group of people fanning out across the Capitol with lots of energy, talking about important topics. I’ll walk through what we were hearing today and what we were sharing with legislators. But first, I want to thank those legislators who joined us for sharing a bit about what’s going on from their perspective.

First, we had Speaker Lisa Demuth. She is the new Speaker of the House, elected recently as part of the Republican caucus. We were thrilled to have a sit-down chat with Lisa about the work they are pursuing this year to finish on time – May 19 is the goal – to produce a budget and advance policy issues that are important to the business community. She and I had a chance to visit and take questions from the audience. We covered everything from paid family and medical leave to tax policy to permitting reform, and how she's doing as the new Speaker in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Also, we had a panel led by our chief lobbyist, Laura Bordelon, featuring Representative Paul Torkelson and Representative Zack Stephenson. They are both co-chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee, meaning they play a key role in producing a balanced budget on time this year. They had a lot to share, and it appears they are working well together to produce meaningful results, hopefully without major tax increases – and making some meaningful limits on spending so that, in the out years, our budget can stay balanced.

We also stepped into a new issue this year at Chamber Day at the Capitol: fraud in state government. With us were Representative Kristin Robbins and Senator Michael Kreun. If you haven’t heard, there’s a new committee in the House of Representatives chaired by Representative Robbins that’s reviewing fraud in state government spending, particularly related to state government grants. There’s been a lot in the headlines, and this new committee is digging deep into those fraud allegations and moving forward with some recommendations on how to reform government to be more responsible with taxpayer money—your money. Senator Kreun joined us as well, sharing similar perspectives from the Senate side.

Again, I want to thank all of the legislators who joined us. Now, let me briefly touch on some of the key issues we covered, because they’re important to us this year as we think about the legislative session.

First, as we’ve talked about on previous podcasts, environmental permitting reform is really important this year – and it’s not a partisan issue. In fact, it’s very bipartisan. It’s being pushed by a broad coalition of business and labor coming together to suggest to the state, to agencies and to policymakers that we can do better. Minnesota’s air permitting review times are 1.5 to 6 times longer than other states, according to a recent study from the Minnesota Chamber Foundation. Only 3 of 15 individual water permits were recently issued by the MPCA, and the average time to issue expired or effective permits is 6.5 years. The longest has taken more than 23 years. Clearly, Minnesota can do better, and we hope that the Legislature can help steer us in that direction this year.

We also discussed how we can make sure our tax code invests in the state’s innovative economy. There is a proposal being considered – also included in the Governor’s budget proposal – so thank you for that, Governor Walz. You may not know this, but Minnesota was the first state in the nation to enact a research and development tax credit. That happened in 1982. It had a lot to do with how we built businesses based on innovation, new products, and new procedures that increased productivity and helped launch companies here in Minnesota.

But other states have since caught up and surpassed us in R&D activity. Now we want to catch up and exceed them. There’s a proposal pending at the Capitol to enhance Minnesota’s business R&D tax credit and help businesses innovate, stay and grow here. That means a broader tax base and more opportunities for businesses and employees around the state.

Lastly, we spent a lot of time today talking about paid leave mandates, particularly the Sick and Safe Time mandate and the Paid Family and Medical Leave mandate. As you know, the Sick and Safe Time mandate kicked in earlier, and the Paid Family and Medical Leave mandate kicks in January 1, 2026. There’s a lot we’ve learned from the Sick and Safe Time rollout that has sparked interest in addressing some of its challenges. And as we prepare to roll out and design the Paid Family and Medical Leave law, there are responsibilities both businesses and employees will need to manage ahead of its implementation.

There’s new legislation pending that we’re really excited about, sponsored by Senator Nick Frentz, Senator Seeberger and Senator Rasmussen. They’ve introduced proposals – not to repeal Paid Family and Medical Leave entirely – but to make some fundamental and simple reforms to the law. These reforms would make the law less expensive for both employers and employees, limit the number of weeks to make it more manageable from a workforce standpoint and provide some relief for small businesses. We think these changes can go a long way toward making the law more workable and meaningful for both workers and employers. And we think it can get done this year because it’s bipartisan. Bipartisan legislation will be needed to get anything across the finish line this legislative session.

So, we ask you to stay informed and engaged on these issues: reforms to paid leave mandates, enhancing the state’s R&D tax credit, and permitting reform – in addition to any other issues you care about – as you communicate with your legislators. Now is the time for us to come together and make our voices heard, because the decisions legislators make in the coming weeks are absolutely critical.

So, take time to connect with your legislators. These issues are really important to our state’s future competitiveness and the prosperity of your business and your community.

For those of you who joined us at the Capitol – thank you! Your time was well spent. We hope you enjoyed your day. And thank you again to the legislators who joined us and to you for your support of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

I will catch up with you on next week’s episode of the Minnesota Business Podcast.