House panel advances bill to raise disabled veterans’ homestead exclusion thresholds

The House Veterans and Military Affairs Division voted March 11, 2026 to advance House File 3727, a proposal its author and veteran advocates said would update market‑value homestead exclusion thresholds for disabled veterans to better reflect changes in home prices since 2008.

Supporters told the committee that the exclusion, originally set in 2008 for veterans with specified VA disability ratings, has not kept pace with inflation and rising property values. The bill’s author described an author’s amendment that would increase the statutory thresholds described in current statute; the author said the amendment "would just increase that from 200,000 to 2.25. And then from 400,000 to 450,000," and asked the committee to adopt the change. The amendment was adopted by voice vote.

Why it matters: Witnesses and advocates said the change would help veterans on fixed incomes stay in their homes. Stephen Whitehead, adjutant for the Disabled American Veterans of Minnesota, said the bill targets veterans with a 70% or higher VA disability rating and cited Minnesota Department of Revenue data he summarized as putting the number of such veterans "just under 28,000" in Minnesota. Whitehead told the committee the measure would reduce financial pressure on severely injured veterans and on counties that bear local tax impacts.

Who said what: Stephen Whitehead testified, "We need this bill passed... it's time and time is now," urging lawmakers to act after 18 years without an update. Jenna Lorenzo of the American Legion Department of Minnesota said similar proposals previously sought thresholds of $200,000 and $400,000 and argued that claims the change would cause massive revenue losses are "easy to present" but misleading in context.

Opposition and fiscal context: The transcript records that some opponents argue raising the exclusion could result in large losses to property tax revenue; proponents responded that county and statewide property‑tax totals make that impact modest relative to the whole. No detailed, committee‑adopted fiscal tally was presented on the record beyond the witnesses’ competing characterizations.

Procedure and next step: Vice Chair Olson renewed the motion that House File 3727 as amended be recommended to be referred to the Taxes Committee; members voiced their votes and the motion carried. The bill will move to the next committee for further consideration.

What’s next: The Taxes Committee will receive the bill for further consideration and any fiscal or technical analysis there may refine revenue estimates and the specific dollar thresholds.