Senate committee advances omnibus commerce, consumer protection bill with amendments

Senator Roger Klein, chair of the Minnesota Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, opened the committee’s April 8 hearing on Senate File 2216, an 88-page omnibus commerce and consumer protection bill, and the committee adopted an author’s A6 amendment by voice vote. "Mister chair, I offer the A6 author's amendment," Senator Klein said, and committee staff later reported that the amendment was adopted after members answered no questions and the chair called the voice vote.

The bill package includes both appropriations and policy provisions spanning financial institutions, insurance, consumer protection, electric vehicle infrastructure, common interest communities, cannabis finance, and product safety. Committee staff walked the panel through a spreadsheet of change items and revenue offsets attached to the bill. Among the finance and staffing items described were a proposed $441,000-per-year general-fund increase to support an estimated three full-time equivalents in the securities unit at the Department of…