Secretary of State presents budget case: business filings drive growth, Safe at Home enrollment rises

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon on March 25 gave the State Government Finance and Policy Committee an overview of the office's work, telling members that business services — not elections — are the largest and fastest‑growing part of the office and that overall activity has raised the office's net contribution to the general fund.

"We are a constitutional office. We're not a department, we're not an agency, we don't report to the governor," Simon said. He described four divisions in the office — business services, elections, administration and Safe at Home — and emphasized that business services files and maintains corporate and UCC records that are a major revenue driver.

Why it matters: the Secretary of State's office is a net contributor to the general fund and administers several programs with growing workloads, including business filings and Safe at Home, an address‑confidentiality program that serves survivors and others with safety concerns.

Key points from the presentation

- Business services growth: Simon told the committee business services processed about 970,000 filings in calendar year 2024, up from about 770,000 in 2018. The division handled roughly 68,000 new entity filings in 2024 and large volumes of UCC and authentication work. Simon said most fees were set decades ago (he cited a corporation filing fee last changed in 1992) yet the office still contributes a growing net amount to the general fund — about $29 million per biennium above operating costs in the current presentation.

- Elections work and grants: Simon outlined the Elections Division's duties — support for county election administrators, maintenance of the statewide voter registration system (SVRS), post‑election audits and run‑up to certification. He noted the office also administers large grants and reimbursements to local governments and manages a small election security navigation team funded by HAVA. Simon said the office administers federal grant funds on a pass‑through basis and has processed tens of millions in grants and reimbursements to counties and cities in recent years.

- Safe at Home: Simon reported nearly 5,000 active…