The Senate Finance Committee on April 25 advanced Senate File 3054, the human services omnibus budget bill, after a long evening of amendments and debate on nursing home ownership, disability services, workforce training and licensing.

Committee authors and staff — led by Chair Senator John Marty and bill author Senator Hoffman — described the bill as a package of budget and policy changes intended to protect seniors, people with disabilities and low-income Minnesotans. Committee staff Kyle Raymond walked members through a multi-page spreadsheet showing net general‑fund changes and a number of technical modifications; the committee adopted multiple amendments that adjusted language and funding lines to conform the bill to committee priorities.

Major items and debate
- Nursing home ownership/transparency (Senate File 2972 included in the package): Senator Hoffman and others added a transparency requirement that requires notice to the Departments of Health and Human Services at least 120 days before a nonprofit nursing home or assisted‑living facility is sold to a for‑profit entity. Supporters framed the change as a transparency measure to protect resident care and public dollars; opponents from Greater Minnesota warned restrictions could reduce buyers and lead to closures in rural communities. The committee adopted the transparency provisions as part of Amendment A44; that amendment survived a roll-call vote (6 ayes, 5 nays) after several members expressed concerns about unintended consequences for capacity in rural areas.

- Direct support workforce and pilot programs: Senators offered amendments to establish workforce training and credential pilots, including a direct support professional (DSP) certification pilot (offered as an amendment; sponsors sought additional fiscal detail). Senator James described a Metropolitan Center for Independent Living pilot funded by a Bush Foundation grant and asked for time to finalize a fiscal note; Senator Huffman and the author treated that pilot as worthy but asked for fiscal detail before a final statutory commitment.

- Crisis nurseries and licensing: Senators offered a framework to preserve and license crisis nurseries (services that provide short-term care to children when caregivers face crisis) and to task the Department of Children, Youth and Families with developing a licensing pathway. Sponsors withdrew the amendment in committee to allow coordination with agency staff but described the proposal as a priority for communities with existing crisis-nursery operations.

- Presumptive eligibility for infants with severe rare diseases (Senator Pratt): Senator Pratt offered an amendment establishing a presumptive eligibility process to ensure immediate coverage for newborns with severe, rare conditions while formal MA determinations proceed. Department staff (Elise Bailey) told members the bill language had outstanding implementation questions tied to federal Medicaid rules and that DHS could not produce a reliable fiscal estimate in the time available; Senator Pratt withdrew the amendment after extended discussion and agreement to continue work with the department and authors.

Roll call and final actions
- Amendment A44 (nursing-home transparency/transfer-notice provisions): roll-call vote recorded in committee: Ayes — Marty, Champion, Mohammed, Murphy, Pappas, Wicklund (6). Nays — Pratt, Dames, Draheim, Jasinski, Frentz (5). Motion prevailed.

- Several other amendments were adopted by voice/viva voce vote (A43, A45 with A51 incorporated as a technical change, A47, A48 and others described in committee) and staff were instructed to make technical and conforming changes.

Why it matters
The bill combines large appropriations and policy provisions affecting long-term care, waiver services, licensing and behavioral-health funding. The nursing‑home transparency provisions are likely to draw continued attention because they attempt to balance regulatory oversight and transparency with concerns from rural legislators about capacity and buyer interest. The committee also directed resources to workforce initiatives and to targeted grants (including a $250,000,000 figure referenced elsewhere for transit work in the prior bill) and discussed system‑level IT/implementation questions for paid family and medical leave and Medicaid eligibility systems.

What’s next
Senate File 3054 as amended was recommended for passage and will move to the Senate floor. Committee members asked DHS and legislative staff to continue technical work — especially fiscal notes and implementation details — before floor debate and conference negotiations.