Bill would supplement LIHEAP to fund year-round energy assistance; committee hears testimony and lays bill over

House File 7 71, a proposal to create a state supplemental grant to build on the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and to extend assistance into the summer cooling season, was laid over after a committee hearing featuring nonprofit, cooperative utility and state testimony.

Representative Kraft, the bill's sponsor, said the proposal would allow Minnesota to supplement federal LIHEAP funds, keep program seasons open through summer months to address cooling needs and provide paths to longer-term affordability such as weatherization. Supporters in the hearing included the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, the Minnesota Rural Electric Association, the Minnesota Valley Action Council (a community action agency that delivers LIHEAP in south-central Minnesota) and the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association.

Annie Levinson Faulk of the Citizens Utility Board told the committee that energy burden is high in parts of greater Minnesota and that energy-assistance funding has not kept pace with rising costs. She said regulated utilities' customers still owed about $130 million in past-due bills (this figure was described as for regulated utilities reporting) and that 91,000 Minnesota households were disconnected for nonpayment in 2024. Tricia Leete of the Minnesota Rural Electric Association emphasized the rural equity dimension: electric cooperatives serve large geographies with some of the state's lowest-income counties and see a concentration of past-due balances after summer months.

Amanda Mackey of Minnesota Valley Action Council described operational impacts of short assistance seasons: agencies lay off staff in summer when the program season ends and must rehired seasonal staff each fall, slowing service and increasing program costs. She said Minnesota Valley Action Council provided energy assistance to 9,200 households last year and related a client story illustrating how emergency assistance prevented a shutoff and helped a client gain employment and stability.

Michael Schmitz from the Minnesota Department of Commerce said Minnesota has received about $112 million in federal LIHEAP funding so far this year; he said the state expects additional funds under a recent continuing resolution but that funding in recent years has fallen from higher levels (he cited roughly $125 million last year, about $160 million the year before, and over $250 million in the American Rescue Plan emergency allocation year). Schmitz said federal funding levels are smaller in real terms when adjusted for inflation and that program demand and arrears remain high.

Testifiers and the sponsor framed the bill as targeting households with high energy burdens and preventing shutoffs in both winter and summer months; committee members asked about program mechanics and who receives payments. Commerce clarified that LIHEAP benefits are typically paid directly to utilities on behalf of recipients. The committee adopted the DE2 amendment and laid the bill over for possible inclusion; no final appropriation was enacted during the hearing.