[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-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],{"_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",6580149,"mediaKeyId","3152054-e12ea1a743916f7b6027da70cc12dc05","parentId",3152054,"title","Ways and Means advances education finance bill after narrow votes on unemployment and amendments","audioSeconds",2589,"startMs",2330099,"endMs",4919625,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3152054-e12ea1a743916f7b6027da70cc12dc05&start=2330&end=4919","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3152054-e12ea1a743916f7b6027da70cc12dc05/thumbnail_2330099.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6580149/Minnesota/Ways-and-Means-advances-education-finance-bill-after-narrow-votes-on-unemployment-and-amendments","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6580149-5897afd5b7e51500fcaf784d65e4eac6/orig.mp4?Expires=1774917252&Signature=R~N417NFw2fm2L5hwmaQWiizkZgSh-wcdohbOabLM0ROVWT~ZsGj7CvhhPmmZ4XBQrQ6aveiift-69zbZHpdLgk-nwG-g5ffw0vVxTXjPfca-tZz-ELN6TDX1vpP4BEm6iYeY5cfW-uftq-juqqvpDyeTDbq1Jta1S-sBbQuyJsRBurvlARhNbaMDSZWMWuGI06~Brf8-q5V~IOvBwfzTZZkoRhcabzDipqyzd2umBsSmBBi7HtKwtPNjka9cH4LaezPgoLt0DNnRF-d7kAzgtUBGKT10rvoHCmoUL4NoINHgKVuXJf3pm~jKoBWAtu17JdAyQ33Gys0~pcIb9MJrw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Minnesota Legislature","date","2025-04-29T23:48:48.873Z","article","The House Ways and Means Committee recommended House File 2,433, the Education Finance Bill, to the general register following adoption of a DE3 amendment and a tied roll-call defeat of an amendment that would have reversed a scheduled rollback of unemployment insurance coverage for hourly school workers.

The bill implements a $40 million REED Act allocation in the first biennium, keeps the base budget at a zero change from the February forecast and includes multiple policy provisions governing literacy instruction, school grant structures and targeted aids. The committee adopted DE3 by voice vote; Representative Pinto’s A22 amendment to restore unemployment insurance for hourly school workers failed on a roll call that ended 14 ayes and 14 nays.

“While we made great progress in the 2023–24 session in both finance and policy, there was still more to do for the growing needs of our school districts, teachers, and students,” Chair Joaquin said as she described budget and program intent. Christina Perra of House Research summarized the primary policy changes: unemployment insurance modifications affecting noninstructional employees and changes to the REED Act that emphasize science-of-reading definitions and literacy instruction standards.

Key provisions described by sponsors include: a $40 million allocation for the REED Act in the first biennium; a new flexible “basic supplemental aid” per-pupil funding stream created by slowing the growth of student-support aid and reallocating some library-aid funds; temporary funding for task forces and specialty programs; and a change that terminates a partnership between the Department of Education and the Carey (Cary) institute (the transcript refers to an institute at the University of Minnesota) with implementation activities to be completed by the Department of Education.

On unemployment insurance, the bill provides $30 million in the first year to cover the current summer (as described by Chair Kreisha) but includes a provision setting the UI treatment for K‑12 hourly workers to expire in 2028. Representative Pinto offered an amendment (A22) to reverse the rollback and retain UI coverage; Pinto characterized school hourly workers as “disproportionately women and people of color” and argued they face financial hardship in summers without UI. After debate, A22 failed on a 14–14 roll call.

Committee members offered varied perspectives. Representative Kotyza Wooten opposed removing UI, saying hourly school staff are essential and often low-paid and that many districts already struggle with bus-driver and paraprofessional shortages. Representative Novotny recounted his own experience as a bus driver and asked about biennial savings; Chairs and sponsors described the policy trade-offs and earlier funding steps: a 2023 enactment had provided around $135 million in earlier funding, and the current agreement directed $30 million to the coming summer while staging a 2028 sunset.

On policy, House Research’s Christina Perra said the REED Act changes primarily adjust definitions to require literacy instruction grounded in the science of reading, add teacher-candidate demonstration requirements for literacy instruction, and include technical changes for dual-immersion programs and math-core evidence-based instruction.

The committee adopted the DE3 amendment by voice vote and then recommended House File 2,433, as amended, to the general register. The roll-call on Representative Pinto’s A22 amendment is recorded as 14 ayes and 14 nays; the amendment did not pass.

What happens next: House File 2,433 as amended goes to the general register and is positioned for House-floor consideration and any subsequent conference negotiations.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Ways and Means Committee 4/29/25","oneSentenceSummary","The House Ways and Means Committee recommended House File 2,433, the Education Finance Bill, to the general register after adopting DE3 and rejecting an amendment to retain expanded unemployment insurance for K‑12 hourly workers on a 14–14 roll call.","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},6580155,"House panel advances Human Services finance bill after amendment adopting program and integrity changes",96,32280,128685,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3152054-e12ea1a743916f7b6027da70cc12dc05&start=32&end=128","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3152054-e12ea1a743916f7b6027da70cc12dc05/thumbnail_32280.jpg","/articles/6580155/Minnesota/House-panel-advances-Human-Services-finance-bill-after-amendment-adopting-program-and-integrity-changes","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6580155-17ebe046461f59a8cda1fde4622c0a1c/orig.mp4?Expires=1774917252&Signature=AVqIYqCDFsatBleWjJwlQ52pCu8~ukSJo9xhKb0AHVvQ21o1VCB1x5yYsCBOT9R3Ex~rXLpYyHPM-Qkjxn6a1nO2ctuDLJ3KwzQIREYXnGH-5m5xhgIOmbG7NuiUL5-l1LJUMjN0Qxbe2h8A~DzGULe5NYm4Q4XXkkC0r3C1mR1ZlEruQSccFuRhho3wXB~8FCrH0uiDQ9i17OxfClu7B6y5ypoMvTRLj~fOuGlnRyfM8~4EY9KWPzDbH~OH4wCpH-LJqAX8F1OQuJVYNJMuQlNjGc8HVBW9Je7vQf17866MRD0OgMFH-5FOarl98dzxMX~VTNLYCw96JVDnWuKHIg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Ways and Means Committee on a voice vote recommended House File 2,434, the Human Services Finance Bill, to the general register after adopting an A5 amendment that chairs described as largely technical and to align the bill with committee targets.

The bill matters because it funds a wide range of human services programs across the state while meeting the committee target that committee staff described as a multi-hundred-million-dollar reduction from the February forecast. Sponsors said the bill adjusts payment models for nursing facilities, adds program-integrity tools for home- and community-based services, and includes a $1.2 million appropriation for demolition of the Miller Building at the Anoka Medical Regional Treatment Center site.

Committee staff member Ms. Adrienne told the panel, “The Human Services Finance Committee received a target that was $300,000,000 below the base that was established in the February forecast for fiscal years 26 and '27.” Chair Schumacher moved the bill to the general register and offered the A5 amendment; the panel adopted that amendment by voice vote.

Co-chair Representative Schumacher and co-chair Chair Noor outlined the bill’s major provisions. The bill replaces the nursing-home payment model currently described as RUG with the PDPM structure requested by federal authorities and funds a nursing home workforce standards board. \"There is no disagreement that the team members at the nursing home should be getting paid more,\" Chair Schumacher said, adding the bill front-loads state funding to cover those costs when they are first recognized.

To draw more federal matching dollars, the bill modifies a bed surcharge mechanism for nursing facilities; Chair Schumacher said the state may charge up to $6,000 per bed and that the surcharge functions as a pass-through to increase federal drawdown. The bill also includes a $1.2 million appropriation “for the demolition of the Miller Building to prepare for the site for future construction of the Anoka Medical Regional Treatment Center,” co-chairs said when describing the A5 amendment.

On disability services, the bill changes the waiver rate system’s inflation cap from a 2% cap in the governor’s proposal to a 4% annual cap based on the CPI-U, co-chairs said. The bill introduces a county cost-share requirement for rate exceptions; Chair Noor said counties would be asked to provide roughly 16.67 percent of the cost of rate exceptions and that the chairs planned to work with counties to develop guidelines and monitoring to ensure rate-exception funds reach front-line providers rather than executives.

The bill contains several program-integrity measures. Chair Noor said the proposal would require additional background studies for owners, operators, employees and volunteers who have direct contact in home- and community-based services; create a program-integrity surcharge to fund inspector-general work and training; allow the commissioner authority to withhold payments or impose temporary suspense licenses where fraud is suspected; and expand the commissioner’s authority to review licenses after a change of ownership.

Behavioral health and housing provisions described by Chair Noor include a state-run certification process and centralized registry for recovery residences (sometimes called sober homes), expanded housing-support funding and changes to eligibility and payment for substance-use services. The bill also delays a scheduled waiver reimagining implementation until January 1, 2028, according to the co-chairs’ description.

Committee members pressed for county-level fiscal impact detail. Representative Scott asked what counties should expect net-net; Chair Schumacher replied that county-level runs were still outstanding and the committee had asked counties and the Department of Human Services for data to break down impacts by county. Representative Novotny asked for the total state cost related to nursing-home wage adjustments; Chair Schumacher said the deeper fiscal details were in other files (House File 1419 referenced) and that the four-year impact discussed for certain components was $95 million.

Several members expressed support for expanded substance-use disorder and mental-health funding within the bill. Representative Baker praised rate increases for substance-use disorder treatment as a workforce and capacity strategy, and Representative Biermann and Representative Gomez highlighted investments in school-linked mental-health and homelessness services that they said fit into a broader continuum of care.

The committee adopted the A5 amendment and recommended House File 2,434, as amended, to be placed on the general register. The record shows the motions and amendment adoption by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript for the final recommendation.

What happens next: House File 2,434 as amended moves toward the House floor and any conference or committee steps that follow.","The House Ways and Means Committee on a voice vote recommended House File 2,434, the Human Services Finance Bill, to the general register after adopting an A5 amendment that chairs described as largely technical and to align the bill with committee targets.","actionData","errors"]

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Ways and Means advances education finance bill after narrow votes on unemployment and amendments

House panel advances Human Services finance bill after amendment adopting program and integrity changes