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 Public Policy Director Trevor Turner.

Notice: Due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minnesota Legislature continues to operate differently. MCD will post legislative updates as timely as possible.

If you have public policy questions, contact Trevor Turner at Trevor.Turner@state.mn.us or 651-350-8642.

On this page:

June 2, 2023

The 2023 Legislative Session exceeded all expectations and ended as one the of most consequential legislative sessions in Minnesota history. Not since the “Minnesota Miracle” of 1973 has our state seen such investments in human services, health, transportation, education, and infrastructure. The “Minnesota Miracle 2.0” session has roots in the 2022 legislative session, where a divided legislature could not reach an agreement to spend a $12 billion surplus. That session ended with few bills passed and lawmakers adjourning to focus on the 2022 elections. In November, Governor Walz was elected to a second term, the House remained under DFL control, and the Senate flipped from GOP to DFL control This set the stage for an ambitious 2023 session tasked with spending an even larger $18 billion surplus.

The Minnesota Council on Disability (MCD) developed an equally ambitious legislative agenda, hoping to take advantage of this unique political situation. We set an agenda focused on:

  • improving the hiring and retention of state employees with disabilities
  • improving disability services
  • making it easier for people with disabilities to access health care
  • expanding transportation options
  • Much more

The MCD public policy team had a productive legislative session, working with legislators and advocates to ensure disability-related bills were heard in committees, providing expertise on disability policies, and striving to expand the influence of Minnesotans with disabilities in our state government. Learn more about our legislative activities during the 2023 session:

This legislative session was the busiest in recent memory. Thousands of bills were introduced, hundreds of which were disability-related policies. A record number of these disability policies passed into law, including critical investments in disability services, transportation, and healthcare. Among those disability-related bills passed into law were a number of MCD policy priorities. We would like to thank the legislators and advocates who helped us ensure these policies were heard in committees and included in the final omnibus bills.

MCD Public Policy Priorities that passed in the 2023 Legislative Session

MCD Capacity Building Increase

Omnibus Bill: SF 2934 Article 9 Section 3
Original Bills: HF 377 – Hicks, SF 539 – Boldon

The Minnesota Council on Disability received funding for capacity building for a newly established base funding of $2,027,000 in FY2024 and $2,407,000 for FY2025 and onward. The previous base funding was $1,038,000.

Minnesota Council on Disability Legacy Funding

Omnibus Bill: HF 1999 Article 4 Section 2 Subd 6 Paragraph p
Original Bill: SF 3052 – Hoffman

MCD received $250,000 in legacy funding to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of MCD (1973)

Rare Disease Advisory Council On-Going Funding

Omnibus Bill: SF 2995 Article 20 Section 10
Original Bill: SF 705 – Morrison, HF 988 – Reyer

Permanent ongoing funding established for the newly created Rare Disease Advisory Council. The council received newly established base funding of $314,000 for FY2024 and $326,000 for FY2025 and onward.

Minnesota Employment and Retention of State Employees with Disabilities

Omnibus Bill: HF 1830 Article 8 Sec 1-23
Original Bills: SF 1261 – Maye Quade, HF 383 – Reyer

This bill codifies into state statute the recommendations from the Task Force for the State Employment Retention of Employees with Disabilities. This includes:

  • improving the Connect 700 disability affirmative action program
  • providing better oversight over disability workplace accommodations
  • offering extensive training on the hiring and retaining of people with disabilities for hiring managers.

PCA/CFSS Rate Framework

Omnibus Bill: SF 2934 Article 1 Section 53
Original Bills: SF 7 – Hoffman, HF 32 – Noor

Personal Care Assistance (PCA) rate increased to $23.80 on 1/1/24 and $24.84 on 1/1/25 with additional increases for worker experience. Consumer Directed Community Supports (CDCS) and Consumer Support Grant (CSG) budget increases are: 8.49% on 1/1/24 and an additional 4.53% on 1/1/25.

Allowing PCAs to Drive Clients

Omnibus Bill: SF 2934 Article 1 Section 12 Subd. 1 paragraph i
Original Bills: SF 1597 – Abeler, HF 1067 – Hanson

Revisiting the PCA Driving language that was passed in 2021. The original language was passed with Consumer First Services and Supports (CFSS) arriving on schedule; CFSS is now postponed, so this bill will allow PCA’s to drive as a billable service within the existing DHS services 90 days after federal approval.

Lift the 40-hour Cap

Omnibus Bill: SF 2934 Article 1 Section 23 paragraphs c-e
Original Bills: SF 7 – Hoffman, HF 32 – Noor

Parents of minors and spouses for the CDCS and CFSS programs (upon federal approval) can now work 80 hours for parents (40 hours/parent or 60 hours for 1 parent) and 60 hours for spouses.

Homecare Workers Union Contract

Omnibus Bill: SF 2934 Article 9 Section 2 Subd 16 paragraphs e-j
Original Bills: SF 1616 – Pappas, HF 1695 – Nelson

Personal Care Assistants (PCAs), Family Caregivers, and Homecare Clients across Minnesota negotiated a new two-year Union contract with the state of Minnesota. The new contract, passed by the legislature, will bring increases to wages, benefits, training, and standards for all PCAs in PCA Choice, CDCS, and CSG, all of which will address the crisis-level worker shortage.

Improving Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD)

Omnibus Bill: SF 2934 Article 3 Section 3
Original Bills: SF 1272 – Maye Quade, HF 1384 – Hicks

The MA-EPD asset limit was removed and a new notice requirement for people accessing MA of the existence of the MA-EPD program. The MA-EPD premiums remain unchanged, as well as other administrative changes to the program.

Phasing out Subminimum Wage for People with Disabilities

Omnibus Bill: SF 2934 Article 1 Section 22
Original Bills: SF 2669 – Maye Quade, HF 2513 – Hanson

All funding recommendations from the Task Force on Subminimum Wages included in the Governor’s bill passed. It establishes:

  • a Technical Assistance Center to assist providers to transition away from subminimum wage employment
  • training for case managers
  • changes to the MnCHOICES assessment to ensure people are being offered true informed choice in employment and services
  • grants to lead agencies to build capacity in supporting people with competitive integrated employment options

There is also funding to track employment outcomes by reporting on people being paid subminimum wage.

TEFRA Parental Fee Elimination

Omnibus Bill: SF 2934 Article 3 Section 13
Original Bills: SF 1201 – Maye Quade, HF 1434 – Edelson

Parental fees do not apply to parents of children whose eligibility for medical assistance was determined without considering the parents’ resources and income under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) option or to parents of children accessing home and community-based waiver service

Unrestricted Diagnosis and Treatment of Rare Disease Access

Omnibus Bill: SF 2995: Article 1 Section 31-32
Original Bills: SF 1029 – Morrison, HF 384 – Reyer

This change allows people with a rare disease or suspected rare disease to have more timely access to needed services for diagnosis and treatment without network access restrictions or without greater financial burden for going out of network.

Expanded Access to Inclusive Higher Education Statewide

Omnibus Bill: HF 2073 Article 1 Section 2 Subdivision 44
Original Bills: SF 655 – Fateh, HF 687 – Klevorn

Across Minnesota, students with intellectual disabilities have limited access to higher education. This bill provides technical assistance and grant funding to public colleges and universities statewide to enhance or start inclusive higher education initiatives that will help advance access to postsecondary education.

Increase Affordable, Accessible Housing Options

Omnibus Bill: HF 2335 Article 4 Section 12 Subsection f
Original Bills: SF 1094 – Port, HF 302 – Howard

Ensures that housing projects funded by the state include physical (including a roll-in shower) and sensory accessibility features. At least 1 or 5% (whichever is higher) of affordable units must be fully accessible as defined in statute.

Metro Mobility Enhancement Pilot Program

Omnibus Bill: HF 2887 Article 4 Section 121
Original Bills: SF 1933 – Marty, HF 1482 – Moller

Metropolitan Council must implement a pilot program to enhance the existing service levels of Metro Mobility and provide service outside of the current Metro Mobility hours of service.

Disabled-Relative Driver’s License for 15-Year-Olds

Omnibus Bill: HF 2887 Article 4 Section 55
Original Bills: SF 111 – Westrom, HF 1438 – Elkins

“Relative” means the applicant’s grandparent, parent, sibling, or legal guardian, including adoptive, half, step, and in-law relationships. A driver’s license may be issued to a person who has attained the age of 15 years and is qualified to hold a driver’s license and who needs to operate a motor vehicle because of a disabled relative who has a disability that makes it difficult to drive or who does not have a driver’s license due to a disability.

Legal Blindness as a Qualifying Condition for Disability Parking

Omnibus Bill: HF 2887 Article 4 Section 49, para. f No. 10
Original Bills: SF 1281 – Howe, HF 1444 – Demuth

Legal blindness has been added as a qualifying condition to obtain a disability parking certificate.

May 1, 2023

It’s officially May and we are in the home stretch of the 2023 Minnesota Legislative Session. Legislators and policymakers are still busy debating and passing laws and establishing a budget for the next two years.

Over the past few weeks, legislators have been drafting, debating, and passing omnibus bills that appropriate money to various state agencies, programs, and policies. These appropriations will shape—and serve—Minnesota until the next legislative budget session in 2025. Omnibus bills are thematic groupings of dozens of smaller bills heard throughout the legislative session and voted on together. Omnibus bills are compiled for the sake of time; it would be impossible to debate and vote on all these bills individually. You can review a list of omnibus budget and policy bills on the Minnesota Legislature website. You can review the status of MCD priorities within those omnibus bills on our website.

Now that the House and Senate have passed their respective omnibus budget and policy bills, those bills must be reconciled in conference committee. A conference committee is composed of members of both the House and Senate who come together to negotiate and finalize the omnibus bills.

The process of reconciliation in conference committee depends on the committee chairs. Generally, a committee will start by comparing the bills and determining the similarities and differences between each bill. Provisions that are the same will be set aside and included in the final omnibus. Provisions that are different will be debated, negotiated, traded, and compromised. Provisions that cannot be agreed upon will be excluded from the final omnibus bill. Once the omnibus bill is complete and the House and Senate versions are identical, they will be sent back to the House and the Senate for a final vote.

Some of this session’s omnibus bills are very similar, so those negotiations will be relatively quick and easy. However, some of the omnibus bills, such as the Human Services bill differ quite bit. The Human Service conferees will have their work cut out for them to deliver a final omnibus bill to their respective chambers.

Here is a list of the conference committees. The following conference committees have disability-related provisions:

Minnesota lawmakers have until the end of session, May 22nd, to pass the omnibus budget bills and any other legislative priorities. We are not done yet, but the 2023 legislative session has been one of the most productive sessions in Minnesota history!

Be sure to check out all of MCD’s public policy information, including our public policy letters and policy-focused events.

April 17, 2023

MCD continues to track disability-related bills introduced in this legislative session. The following table contains bills MCD prioritized in our public policy agenda and other bills that we advocated for in the 2023 legislative session. We list their status for inclusion in the various omnibus bills. Omnibus bills are a collection of smaller, similar-themed bills that compiled by the committees and voted on at the end of session. The House and Senate come together in conference committees to combine their omnibus bills into a single omnibus bill for passage into law. If a bill is included in both the senate and house versions of the omnibus bills, it has a strong chance of passing into law.

Status of MCD Priority Bills in Omnibus Bills

April 14, 2023

As we have noted, this legislative session has produced an historic number of disability-related bills (in the hundreds), and the Minnesota Council on Disability (MCD) has been working hard to advocate on your behalf. The public policy team, members of the staff, and the Council Chair have all given testimony for legislation that will impact the lives of people with disabilities.

You can watch recordings of the testimonies on YouTube. They are organized by date.

January Testimonies

MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner provides testimony to the House Education Policy Committee on HF 0170 which would allow CDI interpreters in public schools. WATCH: January 17th, 2023 House Education Policy Committee (Video)

MCD Executive Directors, MCD Chair Nikki Villavicencio, MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner, and MCD Operations Director all provide informational testimony to the Senate Human Services Committee on the MN Council on Disability. WATCH: January 18th, 2023 Senate Human Services Committee (Video)

MCD Executive Directors, MCD Chair Nikki Villavicencio, MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner, and MCD Operations Director all provide informational testimony to the House Human Services Committee. MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner also provides testimony on HF 0377 which provides capacity building funding for the Council on Disability, as well as on HF 0480 which provides funding to MCD to assist small counties and cities on website accessibility. WATCH: January 24th, 2023 House Human Services Finance Committee (Video)

February Testimonies

MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner, provides testimony to the Senate Human Services Committee on SF 0539 which provides capacity building funding to the Minnesota Council on Disability. WATCH: February 6th, 2023 Senate Human Services Committee (Video)

MCD Public Policy Associate Axel Kylander provides testimony to the Senate Transportation Committee on SF 0111 which would create a Restricted Disabled-relative Driver’s License. WATCH: February 6th, 2023 Senate Transportation Committee (Video)

MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner provides testimony to the House State and Local Government Finance and Policy committee on HF 0480 which provides funding to MCD to assist small counties and cities on website accessibility. WATCH: February 7th, 2023 House State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committee (Video)

MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner provides testimony to the House Human Services Policy Committee on HF 1067 which allows Personal Care Assistants (PCAs) to drive as an Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL). WATCH: February 8th, 2023 House Human Services Policy Committee (Video)

MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner provides testimony to the House State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committee on HF 0383 which improves the hiring and retention of state employees with disabilities. WATCH: February 14th, 2023 House State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committee (Video)

MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner provides testimony to the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Finance and Policy Committee on SF 1261 which improves the hiring and retention of state employees with disabilities. WATCH: February 16th, 2023 Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Committee (Video)

March Testimonies

MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner provides testimony to the Senate Transportation Committee on SF 1281 which clarifies that blindness is a qualifying disability for disability parking and on SF 2272 which eliminates the 24-hours grace period before being fined for blocking or obstructing disability parking. WATCH: March 6th, 2023 Senate Transportation Committee (Video)

MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner provides testimony to the Senate Jobs and Economic Development Committee on SF 1261 which improves the hiring and retention of state employees with disabilities. WATCH: March 6th, 2023 Senate Jobs and Economic Development Committee (Video)

MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner provides testimony to the House Transportation committee on HF 1482 which establish a Metro Mobility paratransit expansion pilot program. March 10th, 2023 House Transportation Committee (Video)

MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner provides testimony to the Senate Transportation committee on SF 1933 which establish a Metro Mobility paratransit expansion pilot program. WATCH: March 15th, 2023 Senate Transportation Committee (Video)

MCD Chair Nikki Villavicencio and MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner provide testimony on SF 3052 which provides legacy funding for the MN Council on Disability for its 50th anniversary to archive and document art, advocacy, and stories of Minnesotans with disabilities over the past 50 years. WATCH: March 24th, 2023 Senate Legacy Finance Committee (Video)

March 17, 2023

Many disability-related bills met first or second deadline in the legislative process. If a bill has met first deadline (March 10), it has been heard in committee in either the house or the senate. If a bill has met second deadline (March 24), it has been heard in committees in both the house and the senate. This legislative session has been historic for disability-related bills. Of the approximately 250 bills (and counting) introduced in 2023, 128 of them have met first or second deadline. In other years, we usually only see about one hundred disability-related bills introduced and about half will meet deadlines.

We’ve put together a table of these disability-related bill deadline updates.

March 10, 2023

Legislation Deadlines

First deadline is here! Bills must have received at least one hearing in either the Minnesota House or Senate by March 10 to be considered for passage into law.

Legislation deadlines and what they mean for a bill:

  • 1st deadline: March 10, 2023—The bill has been heard favorably in either the House or the Senate.
  • 2nd deadline: March 24, 2023—The bill has been heard favorably in both the House and the Senate.
  • 3rd deadline: April 4, 2023 at 5:00 pm—The bill has been heard favorably in all relevant committees in both the House and the Senate.

The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. Committees were rushing to hear as many bills as possible for the first time. Some committees have met outside of regularly scheduled hours—in the evening or on Fridays. Some have heard as many as eight to ten bills in a single hearing!

The next couple of weeks will likely be just as busy. Each chamber is preparing to hear bills that have been in the opposite chamber. A remarkable number of disability-related bills have been introduced. Many of those bills met first deadline. You can view a list of disability-related bills introduced this session in our Bill Tracker.

Last month the Minnesota Office of Management and Budget released its February budget and economic forecast for the state. A recent law requires the forecast to make adjustments for inflation, so many observers were unsure if the November projection of a $17.6 billion surplus would remain. It turns out, even with adjustments for inflation, the budget surplus is still a whopping $17.5 billion. Legislators have the huge task of deciding how that money should be spent. Now that we know the February forecast, the Legislature can determine spending targets for committees, or how much each committee can spend on bills they have heard.

Bills We Are Working on or Partnering On

Here you will find bills that MCD is working on or partnering with other organizations and advocates. These bills have received at least one hearing and have made first deadline. Follow the links to learn more about the bills and watch their respective committee hearings.

SF 539 / HF 377 Minnesota Council on Disability Capacity Building Appropriation

SF 111 / HF 1438 Disabled Relative Driver’s License

SF 1597 / HF 1067 Allowing PCAs to drive their clients

SF 1261 / HF 383 Employment and Retention of State Employees with Disabilities

SF 1272 / HF 1384 Medical Assistance for Employed People with Disabilities Income Modifications

SF 1046 / HF 480 Website Accessibility for small Minnesota counties, towns, and townships

SF 1029 / HF 384 Unrestricted access to services required for diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases

SF 705 / HF 988 Rare Disease Advisory Council Funding

SF 1281 / HF 1444 Adding blindness as a qualifying disability for disability parking

SF 2272 / HF 2418 Removing 24-hour grace period to clear disability parking

SF 1933 / HF 1482 Pilot program to enhance Metro Mobility service hours and service area

SF 655 / HF 687 Inclusive Higher Education Grant Program for Minnesota Higher Education Institutions

SF 1022 / HF 979 Establishing a Legislative Task Force on Aging

February 1, 2023

January was a busy month. Not just for MCD, but for the Minnesota legislature as well. The Minnesota House and Senate have introduced a large number of disability-related bills and many are receiving hearings.

You can follow which disability-related bills are introduced with our Disability Bill Tracker, updated weekly.

MCD has been busy with:

  • Meeting with legislators
  • Drafting bills
  • Testifying on legislation
  • Providing letters of support
  • Many other things that go on during the Legislative Session

Testimonies and Hearings

HF 0170 – Becker-Finn: Certified Deaf Interpreters in Schools

MCD Public Policy Director, Trevor Turner testified on HF 0170, which would change state policy to allow Certified Deaf Interpreters in public schools. Current policy only allows for ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters, who are usually not native signers, unlike a Certified Deaf Interpreter. This bill allows deaf and hard of hearing students to receive instruction in the language of their choice and makes it easier for them to understand what is said in the classroom.

MCD Senate Informational Hearing

The Senate Human Services Committee hosted the Minnesota Council on Disability for an informational hearing about the agency. The following Council and staff members testified before the committee:

  • MCD Chair Nikki Villavicencio
  • MCD Executive Director David Dively
  • MCD Operations Director Linda Gremillion
  • MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner

MCD House Informational Hearing and Hearings on HF 0377 and HF 0480

The House Human Services Finance Committee hosted MCD for an informational hearing. They also heard two bills impacting the Council on Disability. The following Council and staff members testified about the work of the agency:

  • MCD Chair Nikki Villavicencio
  • MCD Executive Director David Dively
  • MCD Operations Director Linda Gremillion
  • MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner

HF 0377 is the MCD Capacity Building Budget bill. It would increase the appropriation for MCD so that the agency could hire additional staff and provide more programming and services for Minnesotans with disabilities. Chief author Representative Kim Hicks of Rochester opened with remarks on the need for more support if MCD is to serve Minnesotans with disabilities at a great capacity. MCD Public Policy Director Trevor Turner provided remarks about the agency and how the agency would use the additional appropriation.

HF 0480 is a constituent-initiated bill that would provide funding for MCD to develop a training module to assist small cities and counties to make their website more accessible. Often, due to budget constraints, small cities and counties forgo accessibility for their website and digital documents. HF 0480 is being carried by Representative Steve Elkins who provided opening remark about the bill, followed by MCD Policy Director Trevor Turner. He explained the bill in greater detail and answered questions from the committee members.

Bills with MCD Letters of Support

Upcoming Bill Hearings with MCD Testimony

January 19, 2023

The first week of the 2023 Legislative Session has come and gone, and it’s promising to be a very busy session. The Governor and Lt. Governor were sworn in for their 2nd term and they laid out their agenda for the next few months which includes fully funding special education with large investments in public education.

Legislators were also sworn into the new term and the DFL (Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party) continued their control over the House but also took control of the Senate from the GOP (Grand Old Party, that is, Republicans), completing the DFL trifecta of Minnesota’s government. The DFL laid out an ambitious plan for the 2023 session which includes improving taxes, protections for abortion rights, marijuana legalization, family and medical leave, infrastructure, and more. Notably absent however were priorities that would significantly impact the disability community such as fixing the PCA (Personal Care Assistant) homecare workforce crisis. The Minnesota Council on Disability is working with our legislators to urge them to prioritize disability issues in the upcoming session and we encourage Minnesotans with disabilities to contact their legislators and demand that disability issues be front and center in 2023.

The number one responsibility of the Legislature and the Governor in the 2023 Legislative Session is to pass a state budget for the next two years. This includes deciding how the $17.6 billion projected budget surplus will be spent. While many expect there to be lots of major legislation passed this session due to the DFL trifecta, the challenge now becomes getting the attention of lawmakers to also prioritize disability issues. This a priority for the Minnesota Council on Disability and we plan to hold our elected officials accountable to the disability community.

The first major piece of legislation that focuses on Minnesotans with disabilities is SF 0007 / HF 0032 introduced by Senator John Hoffman and Representative Mohamud Noor. This bill seeks to address the PCA homecare workforce crisis and was heard on Monday, January 9th in the Senate Human Services Committee. The hearing included lots of emotional testimony from those who impacted the most by PCA workforce crisis, like Dennis Prothero, who lost his legs and later his life due to the PCA shortage (WCCO “It’s a full-blown crisis”). While the bill is an excellent start, it is by no means the perfect solution and more needs to be done to fully resolve the crisis. The Minnesota Council on Disability urges lawmakers to support the bill and to continue to hear legislation that will help recruit and retain PCAs, so that Minnesotans with disabilities can continue to live integrated and independent lives in the communities of their choice.

You can watch the hearing and testimony: Senate Human Services Committee Hearing Jan. 9th, 2023 (Video).

Other MCD legislative priorities include the Employment and Retention of State Employees with Disabilities bill which will be authored by Representative Liz Reyer in the House. Minnesotans often face difficult or even insurmountable barriers in both finding and maintaining employment and the state of Minnesota is no exception. The state also does not have adequate disability representation in its workforce and far too often policies that have a great impact on Minnesotans with disabilities are being decided by a small group of non-disabled policy makers. Minnesotans with disabilities need not only our voices to be heard, but a seat at the state governing table. This is a “Nothing About Us Without Us” bill which would require more consultation with people with disabilities and those who are disability employment experts. Increasing disability employment and retention among the state government workforce creates a pipeline of future leaders and policy makers in our state enterprise system. When Minnesotans with disabilities are making the decisions in our cabinet agencies, the disability community in our state will be better off.

The next month will be busy and full of optimism that 2023 will be the most productive legislative session in years. This class of legislators contains one of the largest groups of freshman legislators Minnesota has ever seen. We hope this fresh optimism will serve Minnesotans with disabilities well in the coming session and the Minnesota Council on Disability is working hard to ensure that this happens.

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Page last updated: June 2, 2023