Laws for 2024, smh!

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New Laws Effective Jan. 1, 2024
The following are select new laws passed during the 2023 legislative session that take effect Jan.
1, 2024. The asterisk following the bill number denotes language that became law.
Summaries of all laws passed by the 2023 Legislature are available online from nonpartisan
House Public Information Services at www.house.mn.gov/newlaws/#/search/2023.

EDUCATION
Access to menstrual products
Effective Jan. 1, 2024, a school district or charter school must provide access to
menstrual products at no charge. Products are required to be available in restrooms regularly
used by students in grades 4 to 12 according to a plan developed by the school district.
Rep. Cheryl Youakim (DFL-Hopkins) and Sen. Mary Kunesh (DFL-New Brighton) sponsor
the K-12 education law that contains the requirement.
HF2497*/SF2684/CH55

ELECTIONS
Political contribution refund increases
State law provides for a refund for political contributions made to Minnesota political
parties and candidates for state offices.
As part of the tax and policy finance law, the political contribution refund is increased
from $50 to $75 for individuals and from $100 to $150 for married joint filers. It is effective Jan.
1, 2024, for contributions made in calendar year 2024 and thereafter.
Rep. Aisha Gomez (DFL-Mpls) and Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope) sponsor the law.
HF1938*/SF1811/CH64

Curtailing foreign-influenced contributions
A provision in the “Democracy for the People Act” takes effect with the new year.
Effective Jan. 1, 2024, foreign-influenced corporations will be prohibited from making
certain types of expenditures or contributions, including:
• to promote or defeat a candidate for nomination, election, or appointment to a public
office;
Minnesota
House of
Representatives
Melissa Hortman, Speaker
• to promote or defeat a ballot question or qualify a ballot question for placement on the
ballot;
• making contributions to a candidate or a candidate’s principal campaign committee;
• making contributions to a political committee, political fund, or party unit; and
• taking any action to publicly endorse or oppose a candidate or ballot question.
Additionally, per the law, “A foreign-influenced corporation must not make a
contribution or donation to any other person or entity with the express or implied condition
that the contribution or donation or any part of it be used for any of the purposes prohibited by
this subdivision.”

A corporation that makes an authorized contribution or expenditure permitted by law
must submit certification to the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board that it was not
foreign influenced when the contribution or expenditure was made.
Rep. Emma Greenman (DFL-Mpls) and Sen. Liz Boldon (DFL-Rochester) sponsor the law.
HF3*/SF3/CH34

EMPLOYMENT
Earned safe and sick time
Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, earned sick and safe time will be guaranteed for nearly all
workers in Minnesota.
The provision is in the jobs, economic development, labor, and industry law sponsored
by Rep. Hodan Hassan (DFL-Mpls) and Senate President Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-Mpls).
Under the law, employers must, at a minimum, allow employees to earn one hour of
paid earned safe and sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours per
year. Accrual begins when a qualified employee begins employment and may be used as it is
accrued.
The law applies to any employer with one or more employees, and it covers all
employees, including part-time and temporary. An employee is anyone who works at least 80
hours a year for an employer in Minnesota. Independent contractors are not included.
Earned safe and sick time can be used and the employee compensated at their regular
hourly rate, in part, for:
• the employee’s mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventative care;
• care of a sick family member or a family member in need of preventative care or
treatment;
• an absence related to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of the employee or a
family member;
• closure of the employee’s workplace or a family member’s school or care facility due to
weather or a public emergency;
• inability to telework due to an employer’s policy or while seeking a medical diagnosis or
testing for a communicable disease related to a public emergency at the employer’s
request or after the employee’s exposure; and
• a determination by a health care provider that the employee or a family member is at
risk of infecting others with a communicable disease.
Employers must provide notice to current employees of the law’s requirements and
their rights and remedies and to future employees at the start of employment “in English and
the primary language of the employee, as identified by the employee.” Notice may be posted at
the work location, provided in a paper or electronic copy, or posted online or in an app. Rights
and remedies under this section must also be included in any employee handbook.
Employers are not required to pay out accrued time upon employment separation.
HF3028/SF3035*/CH53

Meat-packer safety
Portions of the “Safe Workplaces for Meat and Poultry Processing Workers Act" take
effect at the start of the new year.
This includes that meat-processing employers adopt a safe worker program to minimize
and prevent musculoskeletal disorders
Employers must provide each worker with at least eight hours of annual safety training
that addresses health and safety topics relevant to the establishment and the worker's job
assignment. At least two of the hours must relate to the facility's ergonomic injury prevention
program. Training must be done in a language and with vocabulary the employee can
understand.
Written information and notifications about employee rights must be provided at least
annually to workers in their language of fluency. If a worker is unable to understand written
information and notifications, the employer must provide the information and notices orally in
the worker's language of fluency.
The changes are in the jobs, economic development, labor, and industry law sponsored
by Rep. Hodan Hassan (DFL-Mpls) and Senate President Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-Mpls).
HF3028/SF3035*/CH53

Job applicants cannot be asked about past pay history
Beginning Jan. 1. 2024, employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations will
be prohibited from inquiring into, considering, or requiring disclosure of the pay history of an
applicant for employment for the purposes of determining wages, benefits, salary, or other
compensation.
Applicants can voluntarily provide the information, and if so, the employer can consider
the voluntarily disclosed salary history to support a wage or salary higher than initially offered.
The change is included in the public safety and judiciary finance and policy law
sponsored by Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview) and Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park).
For employment covered by collective bargaining agreements, the law is not effective
until the date of implementation of the applicable collective bargaining agreement that is after
Jan. 1, 2024.
HF2890/SF2909*/CH52

Contractors working at oil refineries must abide by new safety standards
Workplace training requirements will be modified for third-party contractor employees
working at Minnesota’s two oil refineries.
Contracts entered, extended, or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2024, between refineries
and contractors will require that a percentage of workers be graduates of, or apprentices in, a
registered apprenticeship program. The requirements will be phased in over time so 30% of a
contractor’s workforce must qualify as “skilled and trained” as defined by the law by Jan. 1,
2024, 45% by Jan. 1, 2025, and 60% by Jan. 1, 2026.
Previously existing contracts must be renegotiated to comply by Jan. 1, 2025.
Companies can be fined between $5,000 and $10,000 per violation.
Exemptions are provided, such as if a good faith search by a union to find qualified
workers for a contractor comes up empty or an emergency necessitates immediate action by
whomever is working at the refinery.
Rep. Dave Lislegard (DFL-Aurora) and Sen. Judy Seeberger (DFL-Afton) sponsor the law.
HF10/SF10*/CH30

HOUSING
Residential landlord and tenant changes
Included in the public safety and judiciary finance law are provisions directed at landlord
and tenant relations.
Among its provisions:
• a landlord must provide heat in a residential tenancy of at least 68 degrees when
it is less than 60 degrees outside from Oct. 1 to April 30;
• types of incidents that allow a tenant to petition for emergency repair in a
residential rental unit are specified, including the loss of running water or
sanitary facilities, no heat, and a broken refrigerator;
• when an animal is allowed on rental property, a landlord cannot advertise in a
way that would discourage a potential renter from renting the unit who has not
declawed or devocalized their pets, nor can a landlord refuse to rent a unit or
require a current renter to declaw or devocalize their animal;
• all nonoptional fees must be disclosed in the lease agreement with a total of rent
and all nonoptional fees listed on the first page of the lease;
• a landlord must offer an initial inspection of a unit to identify deficiencies or
clarify the state of the unit related to the damage deposit;
• before a tenancy ends, the landlord shall give the tenant written notice about
the right to do a walk-through inspection no earlier than five days of the tenant
moving out, thereby allowing the tenant a chance to fix any deficiencies or avoid
having money taken out of the damage deposit;
• landlord entry into a residential unit is restricted to between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
and the law clarifies that notice must be at least 24 hours before entry;
• a statutory procedure is created for a tenant to terminate a lease early if the
tenant is moving into certain types of medical facilities; and
• for leases longer than 10 months, a landlord must wait four months after the
tenant moves in before they can ask them if they want to renew the tenancy.
Before bringing an eviction action alleging nonpayment of rent or other unpaid financial
obligation in violation of the lease, a landlord must deliver a letter explaining the total amount
of rent owed and information about rental rights and assistance. The landlord must wait 14
days to proceed with filing an eviction to allow the tenant to pay the rent owed.
Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview) and Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park) sponsor the
law.
HF2890/SF2909*/CH52

Siting micro units on religious property
Beginning Jan.1, 2024, religious institutions can site micro-unit dwellings on their
property. Cities must permit sacred settlements of micro units via permitted or conditional use.
Technical standards for micro units to be eligible for placement in a sacred community
are established, including size, anchoring, material grade, insulation, toilets, electrical systems,
framing, and life and safety systems. All units and their anchoring must be inspected and
certified for compliance by a licensed professional engineer or qualified third-party inspector.
Rep. Hodan Hassan (DFL-Mpls) and Senate President Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-Mpls)
sponsor the jobs, economic development, labor, and industry law containing the provisions.
HF3028/SF3035*/CH53

MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS
Benefit and services awareness
Employers with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees must display a poster
containing various benefits and services available to veterans in a conspicuous workplace
location accessible to employees.

Created by the Department of Labor and Industry, the poster must include information
about the Department of Veterans Affairs and its veterans’ services programs, substance use
disorder and mental health treatment, educational and other training resources, tax benefits,
unemployment benefit eligibility, and contact information for the veteran’s crisis line.
Poster content must be reviewed annually to provide the most current information.
The provision is in the jobs, economic development, labor, and industry law sponsored
by Rep. Hodan Hassan (DFL-Mpls) and Senate President Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-Mpls).
HF3028/SF3035*/CH53

PUBLIC SAFETY
Extreme risk protection orders permitted
The public safety and judiciary finance and policy law provides a way for family or
household members, a chief law enforcement officer, a city or county attorney, or a guardian to
petition a court for an “extreme risk protection order,” including on an emergency basis, that
will prohibit a respondent from possessing firearms for up to one year.
Per the law, “A petition for relief shall allege that the respondent poses a significant
danger of bodily harm to other persons or is at significant risk of suicide by possessing a
firearm. … A petition for emergency relief shall additionally allege that the respondent presents
an immediate and present danger of either bodily harm to others or of taking their life.”
A court hearing must be held within 14 days of the date a petition is received. A court
may extend the relief granted in an existing order granted after another hearing.
Upon issuance of an order, a respondent must transfer their firearms within 24 hours to
a federally licensed firearms dealer or a law enforcement agency which may charge a
reasonable storage fee. “If a court issues an emergency order … or makes a finding of
immediate and present danger … and there is probable cause to believe the respondent
possesses firearms, the court shall issue a search warrant to the local law enforcement agency
to take possession of all firearms in the respondent's possession as soon as practicable,
” the
law states. Returning firearms upon the expiration of an order is also provided.
A chief law enforcement officer, their designee, or a city or county attorney who in good
faith decides not to petition for an order is immune from criminal or civil liability.
Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview) and Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park) sponsor the
law.
HF2890/SF2909*/CH52

Juvenile strip searches restricted; isolation largely prohibited
Also in the public safety law is language targeting juvenile detention facilities.
A facility staffer cannot conduct a strip search unless “(1) a specific articulable, and
immediate contraband concern is present; (2) other search techniques and technology cannot
be used or have failed to identify the contraband; and (3) the facility’s chief administrator or
designee has reviewed the situation and approved the strip search.”
The search must be conducted by a health care professional or staffer who has received
training on trauma-informed search techniques and other applicable training.
Using physical or social isolation for punishment of a juvenile will be prohibited unless
used for the safety of a juvenile, staff, or other residents.
The law is sponsored by Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview) and Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-St.
Louis Park).
HF2890/SF2909*/CH52

TRANSPORTATION
Supporting professional teams, other organizations on your license plate
Specialty license plates will be available for Minnesota’s six professional teams: Vikings,
Wild, Twins, Timberwolves, Lynx and United.

In addition to typical vehicle plate fees, an annual contribution of at least $30 must be
deposited in the Minnesota professional sports team foundations account. Minus the cost of
administering the account funds, remaining funds will be distributed to the foundations in
proportion to the total number of Minnesota professional sports team foundation plates issued
for that year. Foundations can only use the proceeds for philanthropic or charitable purposes.
Other plates available beginning Jan. 1, 2024, are for Lions Club International and
Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, with proceeds going to their respective
purposes. Blackout plates (black background with white text) will also be available at the start
of the new year.

Also effective Jan. 1, 2024, the Public Safety Department must provide real-time
information about the location and availability of driver’s exam appointments. “The website
must also provide an option for a person to enter an address to see the date and time of the
next available exam at each exam station sorted by distance from the address provided.”
Effective for applications submitted beginning Jan. 1, 2024, the Office of Traffic Safety
can voluntarily collect race and ethnicity data of an applicant on a driver’s license or
identification card application form.
Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls) and Sen. D. Scott Dibble (DFL-Mpls) sponsor the
Transportation law.