Committee advances technical changes to administrative hearings law after debate over venue; amendment to retain county venue fails 5–4

Senator Westlund introduced Senate File 3606, a technical bill aligning Minnesota statutes with the Court of Administrative Hearings' processes and removing a provision that required hearings to occur in the county where the alleged unfair-discrimination practice occurred.

Commissioner Lucero said the change defers venue and process to the court's existing rules and stressed that contested-case transfers are rare: "In the 7 years that I've been in this position, 0 cases... have gone forward," the commissioner said, noting the court uses Zoom and has procedures to consider convenience and fairness.

Several senators pressed for retaining the county-venue language so out-state businesses would not be required to travel to Saint Paul or Duluth; Senator Crook and Senator Westrom suggested the statutory language provides assurances for respondents. Dr. Roger Day, a testifier with a pending appeal, raised concern that changing language from "shall forward" to "shall decide whether to forward" could allow the commissioner to block requests.

Senator Westrom moved to reinstate county venue language; the motion to adopt that amendment was defeated following a request for division—the recorded count was 5 in favor and 4 opposed. After discussion of court rules and a pledge to consult the court's processes, the committee recommended SF3606 to pass and be referred to the Senate floor.

Members asked the author and counsel to follow up if further statutory clarity is needed before floor action.