Lawmakers press House File 3030 to extend UI, set site standards after Iron Range layoffs

ST. PAUL, Minn. — House File 3030, called the Minnesota Miners Relief Act, was heard in the Minnesota House Labor Committee and laid over for possible further action after a bipartisan group of Iron Range lawmakers and union leaders pressed for immediate and long-term aid to workers affected by recent layoffs.

Representative Spencer Igoe, R-District 7A, told reporters that the bill would extend unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for workers at Cleveland-Cliffs facilities at Menorca and HIPTEC on the Iron Range, and would add two regulatory provisions intended to provide clarity for future mining operations. “The first part of the bill is extended UI benefits for the affected workers at Cleveland Cliffs facilities at Menorca, and Hiptac up in Minnesota's Iron Range,” Igoe said. “There was a little over 600 workers that were announced that they were going to be laid off.”

The bill’s UI extension is the largest immediate component: sponsors said three of the six pages cover benefit extensions, while the remaining pages would change state law to allow site-specific environmental standards and to set scientific standards for storage of reactive mine waste. “So the bill as a whole combines 3 things. UI benefits now to secure stability for the workers that have been laid off, but 2 provisions that give the promise and hope of a better future and jobs for generations to come,” Igoe said.

Nut graf: Sponsors and union leaders said the measure aims to provide near-term income support for roughly 600 laid-off workers and to address a decade-long regulatory dispute they say threatens mining jobs across the Iron Range. Supporters described the bill as a package combining immediate worker relief with legal and technical changes they say would give mines and regulators clearer standards.

Union and local leaders who traveled to St. Paul emphasized the local economic impact of the layoffs. “This isn't a matter of politics. This is a matter of our livelihoods on the Iron Range,” said Al King, president of Local 6115 at the Menorca mine. King described steps already taken at his facility, including winterizing equipment, and said that pumping and other operations must resume by next autumn for the mine to reopen sooner.

Representative Cal Warris, D- or R-? District 7B (as identified in remarks), a co-sponsor who described himself as a steelworker, said the Iron Range does not have replacement jobs equal in pay and scale. “When we lose 600 jobs, there isn't another 600 jobs, good paying, family sustaining jobs, for these people to go to,” Warris said. He urged bipartisan cooperation and called the bill a way to sustain the range “for our kids and our grandkids.”

Senator Rob Farnsworth, R-Senate District 7 and a coauthor on the Senate side, said the matter is personal for many families and stressed the importance of finishing rulemaking at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to allow site-specific standards. “They need to finish rulemaking. They need to get this done because it's a bleak picture,” Farnsworth said, warning that mines and related regional economic engines — including Duluth-area port activity and the permanent school trust fund contributions tied to taconite production — could be affected if mines close.

Sponsoring lawmakers said they do not view the regulatory provisions as rollbacks of protections but as codified, science-based standards that would provide clarity for companies and communities. “It doesn't actually cut regulations. I wanna make that very clear as well. It actually, in some ways, puts good, safe standards into effect so miners and companies know what they have to do,” Igoe said.

On costs, sponsors said they are seeking a fiscal note for the UI portion. Early estimates put the impact on the UI trust fund at roughly $10 million to $12 million. “Estimates for us right now are between 10 and $12,000,000 that would affect the UI trust fund,” Igoe said. The bill’s authors said the other statutory changes would impose only modest implementation tasks for state agencies.

The bill was publicly heard in the House Labor Committee and “laid over for possible inclusion or further action,” according to the sponsors and committee notice; committee members did not record a final vote on the matter at the hearing. Sponsors asked colleagues across the Capitol to act quickly to prevent prolonged dislocation in Iron Range communities.

Supporters included retired steelworkers and county officials who said the layoffs will cause secondary effects in range towns. “Our young people are going to have to move away to find jobs if we cannot get them sustained at least until we see an upturn,” said a retired Hibbing Taconite worker who identified himself during the remarks.

Bill sponsors said they have sought — and received — bipartisan attention at the Capitol: calls from the governor and conversations with Senate leaders were cited as evidence of broad interest. They urged swift action on the UI extension while further educating colleagues about the regulatory language.

At the conclusion of the event, sponsors offered to take questions from reporters; no committee vote or enactment occurred at the event. The bill will proceed through the ordinary legislative process, including fiscal review and committee consideration, before any change to UI benefits or mining statutes would take effect.