Minnesota Council On Disability

Your Policy, Training and Technical Resource

Legislative Updates

Follow the progress of the Minnesota Council on Disability’s (MCD) legislative initiatives at the State Capitol through updates from our public policy team.

If you have public policy questions, contact Joel Runnels at joel.runnels@state.mn.us or 651-350-8642.

On this page:

October 2025

During each legislative session, MCD tracks disability-related bills as they move through the legislative process. Toward the end of the session, many of these proposals are combined into large omnibus bills. Each omnibus bill is voted on by both chambers, sent to a conference committee if there are major differences, and then returned for final votes before heading to the Governor’s desk for signature.

Negotiations and amendments move quickly, and tracking specific disability provisions can be difficult until the final omnibus bills are passed. Since the session ended, MCD has reviewed each omnibus bill to identify which disability-related provisions became law.

This update summarizes the major changes this session that relate to MCD’s legislative work. For more background on that work, refer to our About Our Public Policy webpage.

Human Services Finance (HF 3 / SF 7) and Human Services Policy (HF 2115 / SF 2443)

A tight budget led to several reductions in waiver programs during the 2025 session.

Key Cuts

  • Residential services rates: Beginning July 1, 2026, limits will apply to rate exceptions for residential service providers. Rate exceptions—enhanced pay for direct-support professionals who serve people with high needs—will require more specific qualifying criteria.
  • In-Home Support (IHS) with training: Starting January 1, 2026, people who qualify may receive up to six hours per day, but can bill no more than three consecutive hours at a time.
  • Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS): Provider rates will increase by 4% (instead of the usual 6%) to slow overall spending growth.
  • Long-Term Services and Supports Advisory Council: Created to identify cost savings.
    Despite a challenging budget, lawmakers also passed several improvements to disability services.

MnChoices Reforms

The MnChoices assessment process can be burdensome for people whose needs do not change each year and can be emotionally taxing to repeat. MCD supported reforms that streamline the process.

  • Remote reassessments are now allowed for four consecutive years if followed by an in-person assessment.
  • Instead of a written signature, an individual may verbally confirm agreement with the assessment. They can also state that their needs have not changed for two consecutive reassessments. (Effective January 1, 2026.)

Homecare / Consumer First Services and Support (CFSS)

MCD continued to advocate for homecare workers who provide essential support to people with disabilities. This year’s legislation included several wage increases and benefits.

  • Beginning January 1, 2026, Personal Care Assistants (PCA) under CFSS who serve an individual eligible for 10 or more hours of PCA support will receive a 5 percent higher enhanced rate (increasing from 107.5 to 112.5 percent).
  • Adds additional CFSS budget increases and rate adjustments based on hours worked and experience level to improve worker retention.
  • Members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa will receive stipend payments.
  • The state established a Caregiver Retirement Fund Trust.
  • CFSS can now reimburse for acute hospital stays if included in the person’s support plan.
  • Parents may provide PCA support for their child while temporarily traveling out of state.

State Medical Review Team (SMRT) Reforms

To increase access to health care, the legislature streamlined the SMRT disability determination process. Provisions include:

  • Creating an expedited review track for high-risk patients, including children under two who test positive for a rare disease through newborn screening.
  • Allowing SMRT to access providers’ electronic health records and accept electronically signed forms authorizing the release of medical information.

Together, these steps are designed to speed disability determinations and reduce delays in coverage.

Civil Rights Protections

Several provisions strengthen the rights of people receiving disability services.

  • Facilities may not coerce a resident to become an Elderly Waiver recipient.
  • Home and Community-Based Service providers may not require a person to be under guardianship to continue services.
  • Beginning January 1, 2026, assisted-living facilities cannot end a resident’s contract because the resident switched from private to public funding.

Behavioral Health

The session also advanced policies to improve Minnesota’s behavioral-health system:

  • Expanding training on serious mental illness for case managers and providers.
  • Developing a statewide substance use disorder and addiction plan.
  • Increasing funding for mental health programs.
  • Regulating Early Intensive Behavioral and Developmental Intervention services.

Additional Policies

In addition to major budget and policy changes, lawmakers addressed several smaller but meaningful issues affecting daily life for people with disabilities.

  • The Guardianship Task Force, previously overseen by MCD, was repealed. MCD will continue to advocate for improvements to the state’s guardianship system.
  • CFSS will now cover adaptive swimming lessons for children at risk of drowning due to a disability.

The bill also created the Waiver Reimagine Advisory Task Force, which will provide stakeholder input and help guide additional changes to Minnesota’s waiver system.

Health / Children and Families Finance (HF 2 / SF 6)

This bill included several key changes in health and family services:

  • Provides full base funding for the Rare Disease Advisory Council (RDAC) to support operations and better serve Minnesotans with rare diseases.
  • Requires data collection and creates a coordination plan for epilepsy and seizure disorders.
  • Increases rates for mental and behavioral health providers and expands funding to support access to mental health care.

K-12 Education (HF 5 / SF 5) and Higher Education Policy and Finance (SF 1 / HF 6)

MCD supported policies to improve educational access for students with disabilities. The bills clarified rights, addressed transportation and screening needs, and created new task forces to address specific issues.

Strengthening Civil Rights Protections for Students and Parents

The bill contains several provisions to strengthen civil rights protections for students and parents with disabilities.

  • Establishes a complaints process with the Minnesota Department of Education for violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
  • Reaffirms that school districts must provide students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (often called FAPE).
  • Requires school boards to create language access plans that ensure parents with disabilities can participate fully in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings and related processes, including an appeals procedure.

Transportation for Students with Disabilities

The bill clarifies that under IDEA requirements, school boards must provide transportation for students with disabilities who receive special education services outside their school. Transportation costs must be covered through special education aid.

Screening Tools

Other provisions enable school districts to implement screening for learning disabilities, such as dyslexia and social-emotional developmental delays, and require evidence-based interventions.

Funding for Disability Programs

The legislature appropriated funds for:

  • Grants supporting students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
  • The Inclusive Higher Education Technical Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Community Inclusion.

Task Forces

To address specific special education issues, the bill creates several task forces:

  • Blue-Ribbon Commission to identify savings and efficiencies.
  • Developmental Delay Age Limit Workgroup to review the eligibility threshold for developmental delay services.
  • Seclusion Workgroup to evaluate and recommend limits on the use of seclusion in schools.

Transportation Finance and Policy (HF 14 / SF 18)

MCD has long identified transportation access as a major need for the disability community. This session included several provisions that improve mobility and accessibility.

  • Provides funding for Metro Mobility and Metro Move, regional paratransit services for people with disabilities.
  • Extends e-bike rebates to people who are certified as having a disability.
  • Offers free regular-route transit for people who are certified as having a disability in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington).
  • Directs a study on the availability of wheelchair-accessible vehicles, including taxis and ride-share services such as Uber and Lyft.

Judiciary, Public Safety, and Corrections Finance and Policy (HF 2432 / SF 1417)

This legislation updates the bill of rights for people under guardianship or conservatorship to add a right to access communications. It also restricts the use of emergency guardianships for hospitalized individuals and strengthened protections against financial exploitation of vulnerable adults.

Other Legislation

Beyond the major omnibus bills, these additional pieces of legislation affect the disability community across Minnesota.

Following the Results

The Minnesota Council on Disability will continue monitoring how these new laws are implemented and how they affect people with disabilities across the state. Each session brings new challenges and opportunities, and MCD remains committed to ensuring that disability perspectives are represented in every stage of policymaking.

May 2025

The 2025 legislative session ended with many budget and policy decisions still unresolved. As we are writing this, the legislature is in discussions with the Governor’s Office to work through the remaining issues. Once they are settled, Governor Walz is expected to call a special session.

Although the Human Services budget is not finalized, current proposals would cut approximately $300 million from the budget that funds many of Minnesota’s disability services and Medicaid (known here as Medical Assistance). Most of these reductions come from lowering annual payment increases for waivered service providers from 6% to 4%, and from limiting how often exceptions to standard rates are granted in those programs.

Lawmakers anticipate one special session soon to complete this year’s state budget. If Congress later approves deep Medicaid cuts, the Governor could call a second session to rebalance Minnesota’s finances. This could require deeper cuts or new revenue to replace the lost federal dollars. Only the Governor can call a special session. Because the regular session has adjourned, lawmakers must wait until he sets the date to finish the budget.

Elected officials will be making important decisions in the days ahead. It is vital that they hear from their constituents about the value of these programs and the impact of funding decisions on our communities.

April 2025

Where We Are Now

We’ve entered the final thirty days of the 2025 legislative session. Committee deadlines are behind us, and each committee is packaging its bills into larger omnibus bills—think of them as big buckets that gather proposals on the same topic, such as education or human services. The House and Senate will soon vote on their own omnibus versions, each shaped by the budget targets released in March.

What Happens Next

After floor votes, every omnibus bill heads to a conference committee. These committees work out the differences between the House and Senate versions. They must agree on one compromise bill, called a conference committee report, and send it back for final “yes” or “no” votes in both chambers before the session adjourns on May 19.

Because Minnesota must pass a balanced budget, any gap left unsolved in these negotiations will require cutting spending, raising revenue, or both. And with federal discussions about Medicaid and other programs still unresolved, the governor could call a special session later this year to adjust the state budget if Washington, DC reduces funding.

Why It Matters

The choices lawmakers make in the next few weeks will shape services Minnesotans with disabilities rely on. These decisions will affect everything from personal care assistance to accessible transportation. Closed-door negotiations move quickly, so now is the moment to remind elected officials what is at stake.

MCD’s Priorities

As conference committees finalize decisions, MCD’s focus remains clear:

  • Support funding for essential disability services that allow Minnesotans to live, work, and participate fully in their communities.
  • Uphold and advance the human and civil rights of people with disabilities in every bill that could affect their lives.

Take Action

Your story is powerful. Let legislators know which programs matter to you and how their decisions will affect your life: Contact your lawmakers online.

March 2025

The legislative session is moving quickly. Since our last update, the makeup of the legislature is clearer, and lawmakers have the final budget forecast numbers they need to create a balanced state budget. With one special election still to be held, the House is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans and Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate.

We are approaching a key deadline this Friday, April 4. Most bills need to be heard in their committees by the end of Friday if they want a chance to become law by the end of the session. At the same time, the House and Senate reached “targets”—spending limits for how much each committee can allocate to their priorities (House targets [PDF], Senate targets [PDF viewer]). These targets are shaped by the February Forecast, released on March 6, which projected a $456 million surplus for the 2026–2027 budget but a $6 billion deficit for 2028–2029. This means our legislators face the difficult task of deciding what to keep, increase, or cut to meet their targets. Now is the time to contact your legislators and urge them to support issues like disability services and special education.

Minnesota law requires a balanced budget, so it’s less likely new or optional funding requests will pass this year. Over the next few months, we’ll focus on protecting funding for disability programs and services vital to our communities.

While lawmakers continue to introduce bills, we’ve been busy updating our disability bill tracker. We’re currently following 194 of the 4,459 bills introduced this year. Another helpful resource for the 2025 session is our collection of public policy letters, which explain MCD’s positions on bills heard in committee. For example, we oppose HF 514, a proposal that would allow schools to suspend students in grades K–3. These suspensions disproportionately affect students with disabilities and are linked to poorer educational and health outcomes.

Finally, we’d like to share a staffing update. Trevor Turner, our Public Policy Director, has accepted a new position. We will soon post the opening for the renamed Legislative Affairs Director role through our communication channels and on Minnesota State Government Careers.

February 2025

After an uncertain start to the 2025 Minnesota legislative session, House leaders have agreed to a power-sharing structure for the next two sessions. This agreement allows lawmakers to begin working on critical budget bills that will fund Minnesota’s government for the next biennium.

These budget bills are especially significant this session. Last November, the Minnesota Office of Management & Budget (OMB) released a budget forecast warning that while the state currently has a budget surplus, a structural deficit expected in the next biennium. To comply with the Minnesota Constitution’s requirement for a balanced budget, the legislature and governor must either reduce spending or increase revenue.

In its forecast, OMB specifically cited disability services—such as waivers and special education—as major contributors to the projected shortfall. These programs are receiving more attention from the governor and legislators, who are exploring potential reforms and funding reductions. While MCD supports efforts to make disability services more efficient and responsive, we strongly believe that any cost-savings from program reforms should be reinvested in services for Minnesotans with disabilities rather than used to balance the state budget.

Both Minnesota Public Radio and the Star Tribune have reported on the concerns regarding potential cuts disability services. You can read their coverage:

MPR: “Proposed trims to Minnesota’s disability waiver program concern people reliant on services”
Star Tribune: “Minnesotans with disabilities say proposed budget cuts would ‘bring us backward’”

Disability services are not entitlements—they are rights guaranteed by the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Olmstead Decision, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and numerous other federal and state laws. These services are essential for many individuals, ensuring a basic quality of life that would be severely impacted by funding cuts.

The Minnesota Council on Disability remains committed to working with state legislators and the governor to find reasonable, creative solutions for reducing costs. This includes cutting bureaucratic red tape and addressing waste, fraud, and abuse among service providers. However, across-the-board cuts to disability services will disproportionately harm those who rely on them the most. We look forward to working with policymakers to find ways to save money without balancing the budget on the backs of Minnesotans with disabilities.

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Page last updated: October 14, 2025