[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6661510,"mediaKeyId","2407406-f473858fd31f36dcacb8d740685a327d","parentId",2407406,"title","House Tax Committee advances broad tax package that freezes gas-indexing, repeals delivery fee and reallocates transportation funds","audioSeconds",1447,"startMs",1453625,"endMs",5999,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2407406-f473858fd31f36dcacb8d740685a327d&start=1453&end=5","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2407406-f473858fd31f36dcacb8d740685a327d/thumbnail_1453625.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6661510/Minnesota/House-Tax-Committee-advances-broad-tax-package-that-freezes-gas-indexing-repeals-delivery-fee-and-reallocates-transportation-funds","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6661510-56335a27094174e887bec80b02183571/orig.mp4?Expires=1771082961&Signature=AJUdWZhVQdgFBFPiSKrZ9uF8SHT5mopTLu5oARmtxUlvk0iiP46cFFQ6PCuJmrhpTguDBhPtfO9TU4dbKrkD9Q~Y6mSKKBV034EUD3DWrKkNYFX8QdETtvIc94qPYYep2dewGGarKonpoBRcqufOxqKq4R0u7aem66TzPUPEO8lns6bdnEx7-6w2o6e-ShDzd3V7asep928T1o58i52ykqLyk9vnK~5ogB7waf0j5DhU~1uES4dfblptXoUomrXVipyFPhCNNGIEABvPshTe7eECymI-IehRvvrO166uDU4ooYle-vQU-suTWcT1xlOfrHa0auSpbbs4GGnKCb2dYw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Minnesota Legislature","date","2025-02-26T21:53:27.717Z","article","The House Tax Committee on Wednesday advanced House File 5, a sweeping tax-and-transportation package authored by Representative Joy, voting 12-11 to send the bill as amended to the Transportation Committee.

The measure, as amended by the A13 amendment adopted on a 12-11 roll call, would repeal the retail delivery fee, freeze the automatic gas-tax indexing, double an electric-vehicle registration surcharge and change the distribution formula for the Transportation Advancement Account (TAA). The A13 amendment also redirects a one-time general-fund contribution originally allocated to the Metropolitan Council’s Blue Line project and alters allocations that supporters say will backfill lost delivery-fee revenue. Opponents said the changes would cut transit operating resources, reduce funding for senior nutrition programs, and shift money away from the seven-county Twin Cities region.

Why it matters: HF5 touches major revenue streams used for roads, transit and local aid. The committee debate focused on who benefits from eliminating the delivery fee and how to backfill the revenue — by redirecting sales-tax and other sources — and on the bill’s distributional effects for metro-area transit, small cities and social programs such as Meals on Wheels.

What the bill does (as amended):
- Repeals the retail delivery fee effective 7/1/2025 and removes that revenue from the TAA funding stream.
- Freezes the gas-tax indexing enacted in prior sessions, preventing automatic future increases tied to inflation.
- Increases the electric-vehicle registration surcharge (commenters cited a proposed increase to $150). Representative Joy said the change was intended to “backfill” highway and TAA revenue.
- Alters the TAA allocation formula and reassigns portions of a previously appropriated one-time Blue Line general-fund appropriation (the A13 amendment directs $17,000,000 from the remaining Blue Line appropriation to other transportation accounts, according to fiscal staff).

Committee debate and public testimony: Representative Joy, the bill’s author, framed the measure as making Minnesota more affordable and limiting automatic tax increases, saying the legislature should ‘‘decide if things should go up or down’’ rather than rely on automatic inflators. Opponents — including committee members and transportation and budget advocates — argued the changes would reduce funding for transportation infrastructure and for programs that serve low-income residents and seniors.

- Aurora Vautrin, legislative director for 100% (a transportation advocacy group), testified in opposition, saying the bill would have “devastating consequences for the transportation system” and warned of a large long-term funding gap for roads and bridges.
- John Thorson, legislative director for LiUNA (building trades), opposed reductions to dedicated road-and-bridge revenue and warned of impacts on construction jobs and deficient bridges.
- Nan Madden, director of the Minnesota Budget Project, opposed a broad Social Security income tax exemption included in the bill as drafted and cautioned the proposal would largely benefit higher-income seniors while risking future cuts to services relied on by low-income seniors.
- Cap O’Rourke, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Small Cities, supported efforts to secure reliable funding for small cities’ transportation needs but urged a predictable source of revenue.

Members pressed fiscal staff for details. House fiscal staff provided a spreadsheet showing that, under the A13 amendment, the TAA would drop from roughly $147–148 million in current-law projections to about $115 million in the proposed change for fiscal 2026–27, and that the highway-user distribution (HUTD) would show reductions (for example, a $35 million reduction in 2026–27 and larger reductions in later years in the staff table).

Roll-call outcomes and next steps: The A13 amendment was adopted on a 12–11 roll call; the committee then approved sending House File 5 as amended to the Transportation Committee on a 12–11 roll call. The bill now moves to Transportation for further hearings and possible modification.

Discussion vs. decisions: Committee members repeatedly distinguished between policy debate and formal action. The committee approved the A13 amendment and formally sent HF5 as amended to Transportation; multiple members said the bill will require additional work in Transportation and urged the author and stakeholders to meet before further floor action.

Context and reactions: Opponents warned the changes would reallocate revenue away from metro transit and could cut Meals on Wheels and other food-delivery support grants embedded in the TAA formula. Supporters argued the proposal protects taxpayers from automatic tax increases and seeks to target funding differently, including backfilling some allocations with sales-tax receipts.

What to watch next: The Transportation Committee will hold further hearings on HF5 as amended. Legislators and stakeholders said they expect additional amendments, fiscal adjustments and policy negotiations before the bill advances to the House floor.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Taxes Committee 2/26/25","oneSentenceSummary","The House Tax Committee on Wednesday advanced House File 5, a sweeping tax-and-transportation package authored by Representative Joy, voting 12-11 to send the bill as amended to the Transportation Committee.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MN, Minnesota","taxId",77817,"location","Minnesota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6661507,"Committee lays over bill clarifying coerced-debt relief won’t be treated as taxable income",506,960029,1466710,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2407406-f473858fd31f36dcacb8d740685a327d&start=960&end=1466","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2407406-f473858fd31f36dcacb8d740685a327d/thumbnail_960029.jpg","/articles/6661507/Minnesota/Committee-lays-over-bill-clarifying-coerced-debt-relief-wont-be-treated-as-taxable-income","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6661507-e625916dc871ea0f61140433d6e6f77c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771082961&Signature=LQPyALj1sBx5UsYGLQ8bhdueqczidGa-lJbX7Ydkg7Tzjra~oAFOyCGuQpI~5SrI1IsPsT7fnplb0McY-xs13CRNyTo4vGcuivQIfoHhwx8h7COHFNRM~WQrbBtvOx8AQRrqA8ytYmkWPLL-NvLQsmZb82MqUV49YMpHzzQ2g9gd0R2FjItAxaBU7KsRyGvKD7q9rgNm9~3-SoKNaMoJ6-oncaVtIFSOj06iH4ZO2rNWa5Mlc8bUQJjt-HTgjlJ9SwUIKM0RJyRprjlH4KGvSenV8kmVMQ8xjooGa4ZgQuv5tTwJ5Jm6b1W0BReOIqoDsgdA93kMiYSfSJ-g5OUr4g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Norris presented House File 385, a technical bill intended to follow up on the 2023 coerced-debt law that allows survivors of domestic violence to obtain court relief from debts they incurred under coercion. House members heard that, without clarification, Department of Revenue guidance suggested forgiven coerced debt could be treated as taxable income (Form 1099-C) and could affect eligibility for renter and property tax credits. The bill would explicitly exclude that debt-relief from taxable income and from calculations for certain credits.

Representative Norris said the bill arose after the 2023 statute passed and after conversations with the Minnesota Department of Revenue, which provided technical assistance to draft clarifying language. Ron Elwood (Ellwood in portions of the transcript) of Legal Aid testified he had worked with Representative Norris and the Department of Revenue to prepare the technical language.

Committee action: Representative Norris moved to lay House File 385 over for possible inclusion; the motion was made and the bill was laid over. There was no roll-call vote recorded in the transcript for the layover motion.

Key points from testimony and committee questions:
- Ron Elwood (Legal Aid) confirmed the bill’s language was developed with Department of Revenue technical assistance to avoid unintended tax liabilities for survivors who obtain court-ordered relief from coerced debt.
- Committee members asked if the relief would apply regardless of marital status; Mr. Elwood confirmed the underlying 2023 law ties eligibility to a domestic-relationship definition and that relief requires proof of coercion and a court order finding the debt was coerced.

Next steps: The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the tax omnibus; committee staff and the Department of Revenue will continue technical work.

","Representative Norris presented House File 385, which clarifies that debt relief obtained under the 2023 coerced-debt statute should not be treated as taxable income for state tax purposes or used in calculating renter or property tax-credit eligibility; the committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6661509,"Committee advances bill to extend year-round sales-tax exemption to residential electricity and natural gas",925,81540,1006690,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2407406-f473858fd31f36dcacb8d740685a327d&start=81&end=1006","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2407406-f473858fd31f36dcacb8d740685a327d/thumbnail_81540.jpg","/articles/6661509/Minnesota/Committee-advances-bill-to-extend-year-round-sales-tax-exemption-to-residential-electricity-and-natural-gas","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6661509-2c517c0c64843644ac6aefee44d89061/orig.mp4?Expires=1771082961&Signature=aNSFU0pH8yqj-JNuMva5FZqQURKQGWNmspiSldcQNPAcTVUyIymDbWogmCo683jbfgolpG~uLIte734vWREAAEnSjKo9Mkqwijjpbe~7LTzbdQeIxdx5dwpSXv9XvbX3Nr9to~wDRsHlpR8eVS~qLdceG2s1pXZEehZPHVKWnjfebPbh1jPQ5je0qIVrIj9C4LITwDv5XCzFrZE58uW7zKW~RFU8c48aILj9rvWEz6ijnLiiJ0pfKFgoRqGCpnTAqfx9oE8zlBKioBeqWeej2viZvbScALQmXg-dvt0j9qmXxyJigo6z5sbQs8GOuOLDP9rcbHGpW-BQzhisuBMxIw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","House File 9, presented to the House Tax Committee by Representative Swazinski, would add electricity and natural gas sold for residential use to Minnesota’s existing year-round sales-tax exemption for residential heating fuels. The committee voted to send the bill to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The bill’s tax provision — appearing on pages 5.13 through 5.24 of the draft — would extend the long-standing sales-tax exemption that already covers fuel oil, coal, wood, steam, hot water, propane and LP gas to residential electricity and natural gas, making those utilities exempt from sales tax year-round for residential heating use.

Fiscal impact: House fiscal staff and nonpartisan estimates distributed to members indicated the change would reduce state sales-tax receipts by about $109,000,000 per year (nonpartisan figure cited during the hearing). Representative Swazinski described the proposal as an attempt to relieve Minnesotans of a regressive sales-tax burden on foundational household energy use.

Amendment and debate: Representative Gomez offered an A11 amendment that would have redirected the fiscal value of the proposed exemption to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) if federal LIHEAP funds did not materialize. Gomez argued the amendment would better target assistance to low-income households; Representative Swazinski urged members to vote no on that amendment, saying it represented an unwarranted redirection of tax policy and that letting taxpayers keep their dollars is preferable.

Representative Gomez withdrew the A11 amendment after discussion; she said the amendment’s intent was to protect low-income energy consumers and cited distributional data showing higher-income households receive a disproportionate share of the proposed exemption’s benefits.

Committee action: After the A11 amendment was withdrawn, the committee voted to send House File 9 to Ways and Means. There was no roll-call vote recorded in the transcript for the final motion to refer; the chair called the voice vote and declared the motion prevailed.

Quotes from the hearing: Representative Swazinski said the measure is “our attempt for a lights on bill” and emphasized that the committee would focus on the tax portions affecting residential heating fuels. Representative Gomez described the A11 amendment as an effort to “focus it on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program” and to ensure dollars target Minnesotans most affected by high energy bills.

Next steps: House File 9 will be considered by the House Ways and Means Committee where the bill’s fiscal impacts and policy details will receive further review.

","House File 9, presented by Representative Swazinski, would extend Minnesota’s year-round sales-tax exemption for residential heating fuels to include electricity and natural gas; the committee approved sending the bill to Ways and Means after Representative Gomez withdrew an amendment that would have redirected the revenue to LIHEAP.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

House Tax Committee advances broad tax package that freezes gas-indexing, repeals delivery fee and reallocates transportation funds

Committee lays over bill clarifying coerced-debt relief won’t be treated as taxable income

Committee advances bill to extend year-round sales-tax exemption to residential electricity and natural gas