SF 4535 Minnesota Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota business recovery loan program establishment and appropriation

This bill establishes the Minnesota Business Recovery Loan Program to provide financial assistance to businesses that have suffered revenue losses exceeding 30% due to staffing shortages or disruptions caused by increased immigration enforcement activities. The program allocates $100 million in one-time funding, with $18 million designated for zero-interest loans to businesses in greater Minnesota and $82 million for zero-interest loans to businesses in the seven-county metropolitan area through nonprofit lenders. To qualify, businesses must be Minnesota-based, in good standing, and demonstrate that their revenue decline stems from immigration-related events between the bill's enactment and December 1, 2025. Loan amounts vary by business size and location, ranging from $25,000 to $200,000, and funds must be used exclusively for business operations within Minnesota rather than debt repayment or real estate investment.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 17, 2026 Last action May 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

2nd Engrossment → 3rd Engrossment · 6 edits · May 1, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was revised from the 2nd to the 3rd Engrossment, updating the posting date and renumbering several sections to accommodate new content. The most significant policy changes involve stricter eligibility requirements for loan recipients, including a ban on businesses with fraud convictions and a mandate for verified documentation rather than self-attestation. Additionally, the bill now explicitly authorizes funds for an independent audit and fraud investigation by the Office of the Legislative Auditor or Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and it extends the program's expiration date to depend on the submission of a final report rather than a fixed calendar date.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include new oversight mechanisms and stricter eligibility criteria, while the expiration timeline became contingent on reporting rather than a fixed date.

ENFORCEMENT

New authority granted to the Office of the Legislative Auditor or Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to evaluate compliance, detect misuse, and investigate fraud.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a prohibition on loans to any business found guilty of or pardoned for fraud.

REQUIREMENT

Mandatory documentation verification for applicants, explicitly stating that self-attestation alone is insufficient.

Updated the final report requirement to include specific mention of any partner organizations or businesses that failed to provide required information.

TIMELINE

Changed the program expiration from a fixed date (April 2, 2034) to the date the final report is submitted.

TECHNICAL

Renumbered multiple subdivisions (e.g., 2.31, 4.32, 6.30, 7.9-7.19) to reflect the insertion of new clauses.

Introduction → 1st Engrossment · 7 edits · Apr 21, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was updated from its introduction to its first engrossment version, incorporating significant changes to the Minnesota Business Recovery Loan Program. The primary updates include renaming the program's account, adjusting loan eligibility criteria to focus on gross receipts rather than employee counts, and establishing a new 100% loan participation model where the state purchases loans made by partner organizations. Additionally, the bill now includes a specific appropriation to analyze the economic impact of immigration enforcement and cancels a prior appropriation to correct funding records.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a mandatory economic impact analysis regarding immigration enforcement and clarified the program's expiration date to December 31, 2033.

FISCAL

The specific account name for the $100 million appropriation was changed from 'small business emergency loan account' to 'Minnesota business recovery loan account'.

ELIGIBILITY

Loan eligibility criteria were updated to remove employee count requirements and instead rely solely on annual gross receipts thresholds to determine maximum loan amounts.

REQUIREMENT

A new requirement mandates that the commissioner purchase a 100% participation interest in all loans made by partner organizations, shifting the risk and underwriting responsibility to the lenders.

ENFORCEMENT

New fraud deterrence measures were added, requiring immediate reporting of suspected fraud to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and mandatory certification by applicants.

TIMELINE

The program's expiration date was explicitly set to December 31, 2033, and reporting deadlines were adjusted to align with this new timeline.

SCOPE

A new section appropriates $250,000 to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the economic impact of increased immigration enforcement on Minnesota businesses.

TECHNICAL

The bill includes a cancellation of a prior $100 million appropriation from fiscal year 2024 to correct the funding record.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 4, 2026

Committee

Senate file first reading, referred to Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

lower

May 4, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate

lower

Apr 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Third reading Passed as amended

upper

Apr 30, 2026

Introduced

Special Order: Amended

upper

Apr 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Comm report: To pass as amended

upper

Apr 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Concurrent Resolution 6 Suspended adopt previous committee report

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Committee

Pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 6, referred to Rules and Administration

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Upper · Passed

Comm report: To pass as amended and re-refer to Finance

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Committee

Referred to Jobs and Economic Development

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Introduced

Introduction and first reading

upper

1 primary · 34 co-sponsors