Committee adopts amendment to tenant hotline bill; lays bill over for omnibus

Senate File 672, an appropriation to fund a statewide tenant education and hotline service, advanced in the Minnesota Senate Committee on Housing and Homelessness Prevention after the committee adopted an author's amendment A1. Senator Mohammed presented the bill and the amendment; the amendment was adopted by voice vote and the bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus.

Senator Fouzia Mohammed described constituent cases that motivated the bill: tenants facing unauthorized entries, withheld deposits, abrupt termination of Section 8 assistance, and unresponsive management. "Minnesota tenants deserve an accessible information about their legal protections and how they can enforce them," Senator Mohammed said.

Eric Haughey, executive director of Home Line, testified on the organization's tenant hotline and outreach. Haughey said Home Line advised about 19,932 renters in 2024 and has averaged roughly 20,000 households a year since 2022. He described the hotline as a free, confidential service available statewide in multiple languages (English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong) and said the organization sends multilingual letters to eviction defendants; in the last two years those letters reached over 47,000 households facing eviction.

Michael Dahl, Home Line's public policy director, read a client letter describing a unit with inadequate heat. The client credited Home Line with helping him place rent in escrow and obtain a favorable hearing order for repairs and rent abatement.

Nicole Weiler, senior program manager for United Way 2‑1‑1, said 2‑1‑1 referred 2,221 calls to Home Line in the previous year and that referrals from 2‑1‑1 to Home Line have increased 63% in two years.

Haughey told the committee additional funding would allow Home Line to offer competitive wages to retain experienced legal staff, expand training and eviction‑prevention work statewide, proactively advertise services, and improve response times for callers. The committee adopted the author's amendment A1 (Senator Mohammed) by voice vote; the record states the amendment was adopted. The committee then laid Senate File 672 over for possible inclusion in the omnibus. No roll‑call committee passage was recorded in the transcript.

Ending: The bill will be monitored by committee staff as the legislature prepares omnibus packages; proponents said the hotline aims to reduce evictions by providing tenants with accessible legal information and referrals.