Rules committee re-refers tax bill after debate over sports-betting "placeholder"

St. Paul — The Minnesota Senate Committee on Rules and Administration on a May 2025 afternoon voted to send Senate File 2374, the tax bill, back to the Committee on Taxes after senators raised objections to language that some called a placeholder for legalizing online sports betting.

Senator Rasmussen, speaking during the committee meeting, said the sports-gambling language on page 213 of the committee report was presented to him as “placeholder language to potentially add in full sports gambling legalization through the tax bill.” He said the provision could circumvent the regular committee process and the jurisdiction of the state and local government committee, which typically handles gambling policy.

“That’s why I’m objecting to it today,” Senator Rasmussen said. “If we’re going to legalize online sports gambling here in Minnesota, we should allow for robust debate, public input, and a transparent process, and not have a vehicle to sneak this into a tax conference committee report.”

Senator Rest, the author of the tax bill, rejected that characterization and said placeholders are a common legislative practice when there is not consensus on an issue. “This was put in the bill, in committee with discussion and, and also amendments,” Rest said, calling Rasmussen’s remark an “insult.” Rest said placeholders can be replaced with final language later in the process and pointed to a prior conversion of a placeholder into language addressing a Hennepin County ballpark tax.

Other senators expressed concern about how the study group contemplated by the bill would be formed and whether it would yield useful recommendations. Senator Limmer warned the provision’s broad membership parameters could allow parties to “stack the deck.” Senator Marty said several placeholders in the bill — including one that would provide what he described as $9,000,000 a year for ballpark repurposing (about $36 million over four years) — had not received public hearings and merited fuller public discussion.

Senator Miller, who described himself as a strong advocate for legalizing sports betting, defended the study language and urged specificity about stakeholders to be included. “I hope that this study will show the enormous benefit that legalizing sports betting here in Minnesota would do for our tribes,” Miller said, and later referenced an estimate of “anywhere from 2 to $4,000,000,000 a year” in illegal gambling activity that supporters say legal betting could reduce.

After debate, Senator Pappas moved that the committee adopt the recommendation of the Committee on Taxes and re-refer Senate File 2374 to the Committee on Taxes. The chair called for the voice vote; the motion was adopted and the bill was sent back to the taxes committee.

The discussion centered on process and jurisdiction rather than the tax bill’s other policy provisions. Several senators asked that any study language be clarified to specify membership and scope if it is to remain in future drafts.