Minnesota Senate lawmaker says roughly $1 billion in state funds will respond to federal HR 1, targeting hospitals, SNAP and IT modernization

A Minnesota Senate lawmaker told reporters in a late‑session briefing that the Senate is allocating roughly $1 billion in state funds to respond to the federal HR 1 funding law and to shore up the state’s health‑care safety net.

“I think we’re spending about 1000000000 dollars, nearly half of our budget right now in response to HR 1,” the lawmaker said, identifying hospital relief, uncompensated care pools and SNAP and food support as priorities. The lawmaker also said the package includes money for system modernization and anti‑fraud measures.

The lawmaker said the funds include targeted support for HCMC and distressed hospitals, a proposed uncompensated‑care pool for hospitals and a separate pool for other providers. The proposal would also fund improvements to SNAP processing and grants to food shelves and prepared‑food programs to address food insecurity.

The lawmaker framed the spending as partly defensive — intended to secure state compliance with federal rules and avoid federal penalties or reductions in Medicaid funding — and partly responsive to strains on hospitals. “We are taking a different approach on the…reauthorization of people’s coverage,” the lawmaker said, adding the measures aim to keep the health‑care system functioning.

Beyond health care, the lawmaker said the Senate is prioritizing safety and security, a health and human services package, a mental‑health surge package and a gun‑violence proposal planned for next week’s floor calendar. The lawmaker said IT modernization is also a focus: “There’s a fair amount of money in that budget on system modernization,” described as necessary for counties and the state to implement laws and as an anti‑fraud tool.

On bonding, the lawmaker said there is bipartisan interest but warned capital requests are numerous and adding IT or hospital funding to the bonding package would complicate negotiations. She said GO (general obligation) bonds are unlikely for IT modernization and that appropriation bonds could be an option in theory but are not likely this year.

The lawmaker said the Senate has opened negotiations with House leaders and the administration to reconcile differences before the session ends; she also praised movement on an OIG (Office of the Inspector General) bill in the House. The lawmaker noted the day’s floor work included a human services bill carried by Senator John Hoffman.

The lawmaker said she expects the bulk of the session’s work to be completed at the end of next week, with floor consideration of the packages named earlier. She urged continued negotiation with the House so that items the Senate passes can be part of final end‑of‑session agreements.

Next steps: the Senate plans floor action next week on the named packages and continued interbranch talks; no final dollar‑by‑dollar agreement with the House was announced at the briefing.