[{"_1":2,"_123":-5,"_124":-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",[32,76,88,100,112],{"_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",6611069,"mediaKeyId","2900226-e8057e79ab6fa9469e2856ae2e2c4744","parentId",2900226,"title","Senate committee advances omnibus commerce, consumer protection bill with amendments","audioSeconds",4285,"startMs",746000,"endMs",5031000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2900226-e8057e79ab6fa9469e2856ae2e2c4744&start=746&end=5031","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2900226-e8057e79ab6fa9469e2856ae2e2c4744/thumbnail_746000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6611069/Minnesota/Senate-committee-advances-omnibus-commerce-consumer-protection-bill-with-amendments","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6611069-11cc6d2aab468c891cef441face30981/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156147&Signature=hojJdFtA7odYDhiN~jx4igTMTp8DIHw8Stbnf3hxeucjZOkSqtbTUDDeWMZeDePlDJqNq9pMnnKAkAiFp~DqlgnRfifCb~cjsrEiyXxaJJb9yPxRrCtl-4OLScmQfBFFsOm~TIS4W8qDs9x3rY22oc96FzJWNbtp3QopyqU3-pFEvXRw8FxCDiu7j5EUKFuJLY3FdhiqAJm726kGrFVSjhYdOrDoXGfnUhbAQGlxczJizRbhChw-ULyElM4fNwxTB17AkJSmLKZQlGdopUiOfxm6acthYeRkCZ4MWxd1psYrOcwSYsnQyxgtiR6X6x8I3XibjDDMaF-tjxq-JnUgVA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Minnesota Legislature","date","2025-04-08T18:50:33.803Z","article","Senator Roger Klein, chair of the Minnesota Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, opened the committee’s April 8 hearing on Senate File 2216, an 88-page omnibus commerce and consumer protection bill, and the committee adopted an author’s A6 amendment by voice vote. \"Mister chair, I offer the A6 author's amendment,\" Senator Klein said, and committee staff later reported that the amendment was adopted after members answered no questions and the chair called the voice vote.

The bill package includes both appropriations and policy provisions spanning financial institutions, insurance, consumer protection, electric vehicle infrastructure, common interest communities, cannabis finance, and product safety. Committee staff walked the panel through a spreadsheet of change items and revenue offsets attached to the bill. Among the finance and staffing items described were a proposed $441,000-per-year general-fund increase to support an estimated three full-time equivalents in the securities unit at the Department of Commerce, a $2.585 million general-fund operating adjustment for the department’s Administrative Services Division in 2026–27 (and $3.726 million in 2028–29), and several items tied to an Office of Cannabis Management operating increase.

The bill would also create a common interest community (CIC) ombudsperson and a CIC registry with dedicated funding: committee staff described a $500,000 one-time development cost for the registry with $25,000 per year for maintenance, and staffing costs estimated separately. To support the new registry and related work, the bill would set an annual CIC registration fee of $55, which staff estimated would generate about $440,000 per year.

Other budget and revenue items included reductions tied to a planned transfer of the Commerce Fraud Bureau to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Department of Public Safety (a general-fund reduction of approximately $2.23 million each biennium and associated special-revenue reductions), and a new or increased fee on broker-dealer agent transfers that would raise the transfer fee from $25 to $60 and was estimated to bring about $441,000 per year to the general fund. The bill also includes a statutory appropriation for a new electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) inspection fee to support weights-and-measures testing and inspection work (estimated at $188,000 in 2026–27 and larger amounts in the following biennium).

On insurance, the omnibus includes language intended to codify National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) model provisions for group capital and liquidity stress testing in chapter 60D to maintain Minnesota’s NAIC accreditation. Article 3 collects multiple health-insurance–specific provisions drawn from department policy bills, including changes to Medicare supplement rules and the creation of a defined classification for \"limited long-term care insurance.\" Committee staff also said the bill incorporates a modification to the mandated benefit evaluation process in statute (cited in committee as section 62J) and related rulemaking and form requirements.

The bill text spans regulatory and consumer protections for emerging products and markets (EV charging, EVSE testing, broker-dealer oversight), administration of insurance oversight, and newly proposed consumer oversight for common interest communities. After presentation and public testimony on individual provisions, Senator Klein said the committee would lay the bill as amended over for further work. \"The bill as amended will be laid over, and we will see you on Thursday,\" he said.

Votes and formal actions at the April 8 hearing were limited: the committee adopted Senator Klein’s A6 author’s amendment by voice vote and laid the amended bill over for further consideration. No final passage votes on individual bills within the omnibus occurred during the hearing.

Outlook: The omnibus consolidates many department-proposed changes and smaller policy bills into a single vehicle that the committee will continue to refine; the committee indicated further amendments and discussion are expected in subsequent hearings and work sessions.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection - 04/08/25","oneSentenceSummary","Senator Roger Klein, chair of the Minnesota Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, opened the committee’s April 8 hearing on Senate File 2216, an 88-page omnibus commerce and consumer protection bill, and the committee adopted an author’s A6 amendment by voice vote.","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},6611060,"Proposed common interest community ombudsperson and registry draw questions on scope, data and enforcement",3147,1543000,4690000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2900226-e8057e79ab6fa9469e2856ae2e2c4744&start=1543&end=4690","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2900226-e8057e79ab6fa9469e2856ae2e2c4744/thumbnail_1543000.jpg","/articles/6611060/Minnesota/Proposed-common-interest-community-ombudsperson-and-registry-draw-questions-on-scope-data-and-enforcement","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6611060-f5477dccbbfa00f1ac4f16619b801382/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156147&Signature=BGMptv7Txa-AuysyreVoU5P9g9r-XaLwAVCWfRJul1S5uf~Qm6fz1ZmMxCQv4eiRAYY9HPZPyEma90mLDqIf0dBYnhxn83U6B9vv4Vsb54VHx8fMwN8n46XmJYgpJPVpAxNkTb-VnNOwxnD6Djh8v2y-SH6KKdm387ZolsVsHfrZN9BWiV2wl5fBp74rT9B588O7oxKOZCAnute2-72vRe8I0u~v9QVqLm1I41DiGwvG5EFBZ56HdyEPR1b~KXautO1HOkUQqTNdWaSYEZBQtgpNEbvF8DLRbG5BcV-mTERgt~FfFmUDcunj35enc7EBk4IMOV2qRakrpW5NoNkS5Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The omnibus draft before the Minnesota Senate Commerce Committee would establish a common interest community (CIC) ombudsperson and a CIC registry within the Department of Commerce, proposals that drew detailed scrutiny on April 8 from homeowners’ association representatives and a law firm representing association stakeholders.

Committee staff described the proposal as creating a CIC ombudsperson and a registry, supported by a $55 annual registration fee and both development and staffing costs in the department’s budget. \"These sections establish a common interest community ombudsperson and a common interest community register within the Department of Commerce,\" committee staff told members.

Joel Carlson, who identified himself as the owner of a legal research and government-affairs business representing homeowners and associations, said he broadly supports an ombuds role but urged tighter guardrails and clearer limits on the office’s authority. Carlson told the committee the proposed office was under-resourced for the number of residents it could touch and flagged a series of concerns: the proposal’s broad definition of \"similar associations\" could sweep in office condos and storage-condo entities not intended to be regulated; the ombudsman’s powers should be limited when disputes have already been adjudicated; the bill allows the ombudsman to collect certain data but does not include explicit provisions to keep that data nonpublic; and, critically, the registry draft created an enforcement pathway tied to Minnesota’s private-attorney-general statute that could expose volunteer board members to private litigation for failing to register.

Carlson said the enforcement mechanism — which treats failure to register as an \"unlawful business practice\" and leaves potential remedies to the attorney general and private litigants under Minnesota Statutes section 8.31 (private-attorney-general mechanisms were discussed) — was a heavy-handed tool for routine registration omissions by volunteer board members.

Committee members asked staff and testifiers questions about scope and data privacy during the hearing. Senator Klein noted that the CIC provisions were intended to provide oversight for a growing segment of Minnesota housing, and supporters argued that the registry and ombudsman would fill a longstanding oversight gap. Opponents suggested narrowing the registry’s definition to focus on residential CICs and asked that the attorney general be the exclusive enforcement authority if state enforcement were to exist.

Outlook: The CIC ombudsman and registry provisions appear likely to be revised as stakeholders press for narrower definitions, additional resource allocations, clearer data-practice protections and changes to enforcement language before any final bill vote.

","The omnibus draft before the Minnesota Senate Commerce Committee would establish a common interest community ombudsperson and a CIC registry within the Department of Commerce, proposals that drew detailed scrutiny on April 8 from homeowners’ association representatives and legal counsel.",{"_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},6611049,"Senate commerce article revises Medicare supplement rules, adds NAIC stress-testing language and creates limited long-term care classification",2102,1266000,3368000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2900226-e8057e79ab6fa9469e2856ae2e2c4744&start=1266&end=3368","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2900226-e8057e79ab6fa9469e2856ae2e2c4744/thumbnail_1266000.jpg","/articles/6611049/Minnesota/Senate-commerce-article-revises-Medicare-supplement-rules-adds-NAIC-stress-testing-language-and-creates-limited-long-term-care-classification","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6611049-cc527d78b05c778ff07787ec94621374/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156147&Signature=iBbfT8YYM~DUZnIRS5b0H5TmD6OZ38meGP1uNxIfxNsil0jtRohimIOQBTTM9PYoIaEgrvG1cFnj1-VfF0~w2pSmfw4qLndA9aMkr0dIoR3AQTTvFJAL17sTkfb3JFZq~gMWQQ1tN0lTnWAphZVOIhQ0whoQi2ubhkuV9gVb4nX-1iZLxSPuCrlmIwQUcSxvUfnABt0sHVd5-kheQFp1u-6WGG6ZPBxdEGTGVgoMwHt-81OKR5ix-bOqFClh3L4U48Ci2oC2JIi~7eJhbQKvGbrz5TRVHMQXWMmtxMkcLbb3GXUS8uetJXYN3fACDzpFHCmCmtKpyOuCz3LmhDrTew__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Committee staff told members that Article 3 collects several Department of Commerce policy proposals related specifically to health insurance, Medicare supplements and the procedural framework for mandated-benefit evaluations. The article also incorporates language requiring the Commissioner of Commerce to develop forms used in the mandated-benefit evaluation process and clarifies that certain mandates remain effective even where procedural steps were not followed.

Mr. Houdala summarized that the article includes a provision allowing insurance companies to impose a 10% penalty on individuals who enroll in a Medicare supplement plan outside their initial open enrollment period, while also noting the committee incorporated an amendment offering carriers flexibility to move enrollees to comparable plans under specified criteria. Article 3 also includes language describing a new insurance classification called \"limited long-term care insurance,\" intended to allow lower-premium products with limited benefits and specific guardrails.

Industry representatives and business groups took particular interest in the committee’s changes to the mandated-benefit evaluation process (statute cited in committee as \"section 62J\"). Bentley Graves of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce said his members remain concerned that narrowing the statutory definition of a health-insurance mandate could exclude cost-sharing proposals that traditionally have been evaluated and could complicate legislative evaluations if legislative text is not provided to ground the analysis. \"It is sometimes difficult, in these evaluations to to nail down, completely the, the impact with regard to cost and benefit,\" Graves said, urging that legislative text be provided to ensure accurate evaluations.

Department of Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold testified in support of certain omnibus items, including the NAIC model language for holding-company group capital and liquidity stress testing, which the department said must be adopted by Jan. 1, 2026 for NAIC accreditation. Commissioner Arnold also warned of department concerns with the bill’s guaranteed-renewability language and recommended department language that would allow plans with very low enrollment to terminate while preserving department review authority.

On related market-stability topics, Senator Klein and others discussed the separate but related question of reinsurance for the individual market; Klein said reinsurance was not part of this commerce omnibus but remained a topic for end-of-session negotiations.

Outlook: The insurance and health-insurance provisions are likely to be refined as committee and stakeholders address concerns about mandated-benefit definitions, evaluation requirements and market-stability tools such as reinsurance.","Committee staff told members that Article 3 collects several Department of Commerce policy proposals related to health insurance, Medicare supplements and the mandated-benefit evaluation process, and the Department of Commerce testified in support of parts of the article while noting concerns.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6611054,"Office of Cannabis Management supports omnibus changes including social equity and CAN grant funding",2472,1993000,4465000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2900226-e8057e79ab6fa9469e2856ae2e2c4744&start=1993&end=4465","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2900226-e8057e79ab6fa9469e2856ae2e2c4744/thumbnail_1993000.jpg","/articles/6611054/Minnesota/Office-of-Cannabis-Management-supports-omnibus-changes-including-social-equity-and-CAN-grant-funding","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6611054-c00df2130f9c41e8d3f26304136f3c64/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156147&Signature=LYXPlc5fyj8HtDrpoPTywTnoNz29IauVBC9jF2LX4tH8XDyD90fRt8c0CY~4kq-HLZP~31S8rLomGtTKwaE9wUC~roUE6s9U9A8Pgi4NbAsbc6zeTseEJ01nDg2vnr4RhhYDe19v6NIc7I-5YfCUWzU4QG7brnCVxsS8DuNJOxBthdsj5CzhGfKWU2TkstG2RZcTp7kc0T8o4~kvhezIubbCTfUGWm22dJZGiSTHI75x6N5p17qtJeKBHzaDuZ8pe9LSVcnVu~3QVkOogLeeTkDerrQfwjNmn1XGYSNvA9jGMC7LbmdO1lLSbrJz9Kvl5TS12as9z4NhwVjYiACi3A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Interim Director Eric Taubel of the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management testified in favor of provisions in the commerce omnibus related to cannabis licensing, social equity criteria and grant programs, telling the Senate committee the language will help timely market launch and support social-equity applicants.

\"This will help support a timely market launch that will prioritize the health and safety of the market,\" Taubel said of the proposal to change the testing-facility licensing process and other measures carried in Senate File 2216. He said clarifying language around social-equity criteria would allow broader eligibility by including persons who had a state adjudication or juvenile delinquency determination for a cannabis offense.

Taubel described two grant programs included in the omnibus: CAN Renew, a community-reinvestment grant aimed at communities harmed by over-enforcement during cannabis prohibition and designed to fund programming such as job training or youth programming; and CAN Grow, a small revolving-loan program to help prospective cultivators obtain technical and agricultural skills. Taubel said the office had received 165 applications for a $1 million initial CAN Renew allocation in the first biennium and is reviewing those applications. The office additionally seeks carry-forward authority to fully deploy appropriated funds and requested operating support to cover employee compensation, IT, rent and other expenses.

Committee members asked about timing for the cannabis market launch and whether tribal compacts would affect the sequencing of retail availability. Taubel said the office has Administrative Law Judge approval for adult-use rules and expects rule publication steps soon. He estimated the first sales could occur in 2026 but emphasized that much of the work to begin sales rests with qualified applicants moving from preliminary approval to licensed operations.

Senators also asked about oversight for CAN Renew grants. Taubel described a grant administration structure that includes a 100-page grant manual, oversight tools including on-site reconciliation of expenditures and an annual report to the legislature that will show grant outcomes. He emphasized the office’s effort to build accountability into the program.

Outlook: The cannabis provisions in the omnibus — testing facility licensing changes, expanded social-equity language, and the CAN Renew/CAN Grow grants — are likely to remain a negotiation point, particularly around funding, oversight and timelines to market launch.","Interim Director Eric Taubel and other witnesses told the committee the omnibus includes key Office of Cannabis Management provisions to support testing, social equity licensure, and community reinvestment grants (CAN Renew and CAN Grow). Committee members asked about timeline to market and grant oversight.",{"_33":113,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":114,"_41":115,"_43":116,"_45":46,"_47":117,"_49":118,"_51":119,"_53":120,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":121,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":122,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6611065,"Family and environmental advocates urge panel to preserve Amara’s law; oppose ATV PFAS exemption",3317,1714000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2900226-e8057e79ab6fa9469e2856ae2e2c4744&start=1714&end=5031","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2900226-e8057e79ab6fa9469e2856ae2e2c4744/thumbnail_1714000.jpg","/articles/6611065/Minnesota/Family-and-environmental-advocates-urge-panel-to-preserve-Amaras-law-oppose-ATV-PFAS-exemption","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6611065-fe4ad61e53595d55b18abbcc9f1a1521/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156147&Signature=ev7nodCQo-kZrLocuQvcIJod5TFZxt7lArAur4YrwewgVRgvfitMec7NdqohQJldAhYQBXKMiQ5dlwWtfOp2h~Pn3vRizGm5PZ~KVUCs-JuPY~cYLlPZTvDINUnLfUcnU0M6l0O4ghA0Yxfc2W-o3tGd2DSZhuJiwvQ3~bp2eJhNpe0XAsRMV-LfqsZCUpD0y3VTpU1-gv0rqRUI0WVLSZubI5NgVohb5obg2YUIQP6dBWWSVasRBQZH2jpsEgRW5-2RvzeYDKXWz2g3XnGTNZDAYnIgcOkwS9p6mTOPstRow-4U9TK09s2~sZMWwB2F-CTiGS~e9rE2ye~-ML82yg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Advocates and family members urged the Minnesota Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee on April 8 to reject proposed carve-outs in Amara’s law that would exempt certain products from the state’s PFAS prohibitions.

\"The current language gives a lifetime exemption for ATVs,\" Ivana Stark, state director of Clean Water Action Minnesota, told the committee, arguing that an exemption would remove incentives for manufacturers to eliminate PFAS from products and urging the committee to adopt the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) recommended language and a specific implementation date. \"This means there's no timeline for them to remove PFAS from their products. There's no incentive to make these items safer and less toxic.\"

Members of the Strandy family — who testified in committee meetings when Amara’s law was adopted — urged senators to keep the law intact and to reject the ATV carve-out in the omnibus. \"If you support weakening Amara's Law, then you will be telling your constituents and their loved ones that you also do not care that they continue to be poisoned,\" Michael Strandy said in committee. Nora Strandy, Amara’s sister, told the committee the proposed ATV exemption \"is the very same people that Amara fought so hard against\" and urged senators to \"vote for Amara, to vote for health and to vote for Minnesota.\"

Testimony from Clean Water Action and family members followed the committee’s summary of Article 7 language. Committee staff said Article 7 includes exemptions for certain internal components and other narrowly defined product classes and specifically noted a provision that would exempt some vehicles made for children and delay certain prohibitions for covered products used in specific aviation firefighting systems until Jan. 1, 2028.

Advocates asked the committee to adopt MPCA-recommended language and to set a firm timeline for internal- and electronic-component implementation. Clean Water Action urged the committee to make 2032 the implementation date for internal and electronic components language and to remove the ATV exemption specifically identified in the omnibus draft.

Senators and committee staff acknowledged the public health and industry concerns the provision raises. At the end of the hearing, Chair Klein said he had taken the comments to heart and invited further discussion as the omnibus moved through the legislative process.

Outlook: Article 7’s PFAS provisions are likely to attract additional input from environmental regulators, industry groups and family advocates as the omnibus bill is amended and negotiated; lawmakers signaled openness to further discussion and potential changes.

","Family members of the late Amara Strandy, Clean Water Action Minnesota, and other witnesses urged the Senate Commerce Committee not to weaken Amara's law, opposing a proposed exemption for ATVs and seeking firm implementation timelines for other PFAS provisions in Article 7 of the omnibus bill.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Senate committee advances omnibus commerce, consumer protection bill with amendments

Proposed common interest community ombudsperson and registry draw questions on scope, data and enforcement

Senate commerce article revises Medicare supplement rules, adds NAIC stress-testing language and creates limited long-term care classification

Office of Cannabis Management supports omnibus changes including social equity and CAN grant funding

Family and environmental advocates urge panel to preserve Amara’s law; oppose ATV PFAS exemption