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Lawmakers back $500,000 biennial proposal for construction industry mental‑health outreach
Summary
The committee heard testimony from labor and contractor leaders in support of a bill that would appropriate $500,000 in each fiscal year to fund mental‑health outreach and stigma‑reduction in Minnesota’s construction trades.
Representative Rob Nelson presented House File 2468, which would appropriate $500,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $500,000 in fiscal year 2027 to the Department of Labor and Industry to convene stakeholders and support mental‑health outreach, education and stigma reduction in the construction industry.
Joel Smith, president and business manager for LiUNA Minnesota‑North Dakota, said construction‑industry workers face elevated suicide rates and that his union’s health fund recently added an employee assistance program with limited free visits. Smith cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics and industry factors — unstable employment cycles, long hours, time away from family and a male‑dominated culture — that he said contribute to elevated suicide risk. He urged the committee to fund evidence‑based, industry‑tailored interventions.
Tim Wirke, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, described a new tripartite Minnesota Construction Mental Health Alliance of contractors, unions and project owners and said the alliance seeks action to embed mental‑health supports into industry practices. Wirke said the construction sector is now seeing more deaths by suicide than on‑site fatal accidents and called for leadership and funding to change industry culture.
Action: Representative Nelson moved the bill for further consideration and the chair laid House File 2468 over for possible amendment and fiscal review.
Ending: Sponsors and industry partners described the funding as an investment to reduce preventable deaths and integrate mental‑health practices into safety programs across the construction industry.
