The Minnesota House of Representatives on May 17, 2025, adopted the conference committee report on Senate File 2298, a housing package, repassing the bill as amended by conference by a vote of 108 to 26.

Representative Jamie Igoe (Itasca), the bill’s author on the floor, said the House target was reduced from $75,000,000 to $15,000,000 in conference but that conferees spread the available funds across several priorities. Igoe summarized allocations included in the conference report: $2,000,000 to the statewide challenge program, $2,000,000 for workforce homeownership, $2,000,000 for Greater Minnesota infrastructure grants, $2,000,000 for community-based first-time homebuyer grants, and $8,300,000 to FHPAP (Family Homelessness Prevention and Assistance Program) to assist people at risk of homelessness.

Igoe also said the report contains transparency language requiring Minnesota Housing Finance Agency notifications to committee chairs and ranking members when the agency moves dollars, and policy allowing adaptive reuse using housing infrastructure bonds. The conference report includes provisions directing Minnesota Housing to give up to five percentage points (on a four-year sunset) of preferential scoring in grant RFPs to cities that adopt affirmative land use and zoning policies, the author said.

Representative Ryan Howard (Hennepin), co-chair of the committee, described the package as a bipartisan effort given the reduced target and thanked staff; he said the bill would do “good things for Minnesotans” while expressing disappointment that the final target was smaller than the House-passed commitment. Several members from both metro and Greater Minnesota outlined local impacts and policy gaps they want to address next session, including land-use and zoning reform, manufactured-home-park protections, and barriers to building more housing.

Representative Hussain (Ramsey) noted the measure provides $8,000,000 in emergency rental assistance and $4,000,000 for first-generation homebuyer assistance to help close racial homeownership gaps. Representative Nash (Carver) and other members urged regulatory reforms to land use and zoning as necessary complements to funding. Representative Norris (Anoka) discussed manufactured housing and said she was disappointed the conference report omitted infrastructure dollars and down-payment assistance that had been in earlier House language; she reiterated intent to work on manufactured-home-park resident protections in the interim.

Representative Igoe moved adoption of the conference committee report on SF 2298. With no further floor amendments, the clerk recorded 108 ayes and 26 nays and announced the bill repassed as amended by conference.