Senate bill would fund statewide housing mediation network to reduce evictions

Senate File 830 would appropriate $4,400,000 in fiscal years 2026–27 to Community Mediation Minnesota to administer a statewide housing mediation program, proponents told the Senate Committee on Housing and Homelessness Prevention.

Supporters said mediation is an effective alternative to court that can keep people housed and lower costs for landlords, tenants and the courts. “Upwards of 90% of cases are able to be worked out through mediation,” said Senator Bolden during the committee presentation. Katie Arnold, co‑executive director of Community Mediation Minnesota, told the committee the umbrella organization coordinates seven state‑certified community dispute resolution programs and partners with culturally specific providers.

The bill would fund dispute resolution services, eviction prevention and navigation statewide. Testimony outlined current reach and gaps: Community Mediation Minnesota’s network has active operations in 77 of Minnesota’s 87 counties, the witnesses said, and they described particular shortages in the western part of the state. Beth Bailey, executive director of Community Mediation and Restorative Services, described mediation as a “last mile in the housing ecosystem” that produces negotiated outcomes acceptable to both tenants and rental property providers.

Witnesses said the state funding would be used to expand capacity through mediator training, volunteer recruitment, a statewide shared database for data aggregation, and coordination among the seven certified programs. Jennifer Frisbie, director of operations and programs at Community Mediation Minnesota, said pairing mediation with rental assistance produced measurable results in a prior program: “By pairing mediation and rental assistance together, we... connected [participants] to $14,140,000 in rental assistance since just 1 year,” she said, describing those funds as often becoming part of mediated settlements that prevented evictions.

Committee members asked operational questions including typical session length; Katie Arnold said in many court‑adjacent mediations the process can be resolved during the court appearance and “it will take maybe 45 minutes.” Members also asked about follow‑up mediations and durability of agreements; Arnold said parties often return to mediated processes when they need to change prior agreements.

After testimony and member discussion, Sen. Porte (chair) said Senate File 830 is “laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus.” The committee did not record a roll‑call vote on the bill during the hearing.

The committee hearing record shows proponents framed the proposal as a statewide, locally staffed approach emphasizing cultural competency, language access and accommodations for people with disabilities. The witness panel highlighted that community programs are locally designed and that state funding would support both daily operations and strategic expansion into underserved counties.