Minn. Ways and Means debates pause of paid family and medical leave; amendment withdrawn, no final vote

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee debated House File 11 on March 3, 2025, a bill described by its author as a one-year “pause” to the state’s paid family and medical leave program, but did not record a final vote after members raised questions about fiscal language and implementation details.

Representative Baker, the bill’s author, told the committee, “House file 11 is not a repeal, it is a pause,” and said the intent was to give lawmakers more time to address concerns raised by businesses, school districts and other employers. The committee considered, then withdrew, a technical amendment (referred to as the A1 amendment) intended to change the timetable and interagency fund transfers used to pay administrative costs. After debate and a short recess to resolve the amendment language, Baker withdrew it and the committee recessed without taking a final roll-call on the bill.

Why it matters: The bill would affect the timing and implementation of Minnesota’s paid family and medical leave program and how state agencies access funds to cover administrative costs. Lawmakers and executive-branch witnesses debated whether the amendment would actually allow agencies to use existing account balances in 2026 or whether the text, as written, left a funding gap. Committee discussion also touched on the program’s fiscal note, software readiness for benefit administration and the potential impacts on employers and workers.

Most of the committee’s hour-plus discussion focused on a technical change to section 4 of the bill that House Research staff said would restore language allowing data…