Rep. Steve Gander

Maddy summaryHF 1348 modifies Minnesota's Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) program to change how support workers qualify for an enhanced pay rate. It requires support workers providing services to participants needing 10+ hours daily to meet specific training standards: either complete Medicare-certified home health aide/nursing assistant training, use state-approved alternatives, or receive individualized training from a participant's healthcare provider or responsible party. This change affects CFSS support workers directly, as their eligibility for higher pay rates depends on meeting these updated training requirements. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025, or after federal approval, whichever is later.

Maddy summaryHF 1438 appropriates $9.7 million from state bond proceeds to fund Phase 1 of the West Central Regional Water System. The funds will be granted to Norman County, Clay County, Polk County, or any combination of two of these counties to acquire land, design, and construct infrastructure - including a trunk pipeline - for transporting drinking water to cities in those areas. The state will issue bonds up to $9.7 million to cover this appropriation, following Minnesota's bond authorization rules. This bill directly affects communities in the three specified counties that will receive the water infrastructure.

Maddy summaryHF 1474 amends Minnesota law to clarify the definition of "covered services" in dental insurance, affecting dental insurance plans, dentists, and patients. It defines covered services as dental care that would be reimbursed under a plan but for standard limitations like deductibles, co-pays, or annual limits. The bill prohibits dental plans from requiring dentists to accept plan-set fees for non-covered services and mandates that dentists provide patients with cost estimates for non-covered services before treatment. Dentists may not charge more than their usual rate for non-covered care, aiming to improve transparency about out-of-pocket costs.

Maddy summaryHF 1448 allows surviving spouses to use their deceased spouse's unused federal estate tax exemption when calculating Minnesota estate taxes. The bill requires personal representatives of a decedent's estate to elect this "portability" option on Minnesota estate tax returns (or file a return if not otherwise required), making the election irrevocable. It directly affects married couples where one spouse dies before using their full federal estate tax exemption, potentially reducing estate taxes for the surviving spouse. The key change is streamlining access to this federal exemption for Minnesota estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2024.

Maddy summaryHF 1437 modifies Minnesota's stillbirth tax credit, providing eligible parents a $2,000 credit against state income tax for each stillbirth. It directly affects individuals who experienced a stillbirth and filed Minnesota income taxes, including residents and nonresident military spouses. The bill defines "stillbirth" per Minnesota's fetal death reporting rules and specifies that the credit applies only to the year the stillbirth occurred. This change applies retroactively to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, with refund claims for affected years allowed until January 1, 2026.

Maddy summaryHF 2 requires state agency employees to immediately report suspected fraud to law enforcement and legislative committee leaders when they have reason to believe fraud exists in agency programs. It mandates that all state agencies post current organizational charts online with contact details for leadership and division heads. The bill strengthens grant management by requiring agencies to conduct unannounced monitoring visits before final payments for grants over $50,000 (and annually for grants over $250,000), perform financial reconciliations prior to disbursement, and withhold funds from grantees failing to submit required progress reports. Violating these grant management requirements constitutes a misdemeanor under the bill.

Maddy summaryHF 768 prohibits Minnesota's Department of Human Rights from maintaining any database or collection of incidents involving protected speech. The bill amends Minnesota Statutes 363A.06 to explicitly state the department cannot collect or store data about protected speech - defined as speech protected under the U.S. or Minnesota Constitutions (including free speech, press, assembly, and association). This restriction applies directly to the Department of Human Rights' operations, preventing it from creating or using such databases for any purpose. The bill does not affect other data collection or reporting duties, such as the department's required biennial report on civil rights trends.

Maddy summaryHF 14 proposed a temporary moratorium on most light rail transit project development spending by the Metropolitan Council in seven Minnesota counties (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington). The bill prohibited funds for planning, design, environmental analysis, land acquisition, and construction of new light rail projects, but exempted the Southwest Light Rail (Green Line Extension) and prior contractor payments. The moratorium would have expired once the Green Line Extension began revenue operations. The bill was introduced, amended, and ultimately not passed by the legislature.

Maddy summaryHF 1331 requires the commissioner of natural resources to conduct an annual statewide survey to estimate Minnesota's wolf population. The survey must cover the entire state - not just historic wolf habitats - and be completed each year. This amendment to Minnesota Statutes section 97B.646 (wolf management) adds this requirement to the existing framework, which already includes a wolf management plan and quarterly mortality reporting. The bill directly affects state wildlife management practices under the Department of Natural Resources.

Maddy summaryHF 728 modifies Minnesota's rules for providing out-of-home respite care services for children in unlicensed residential settings. It allows licensed providers to offer this care in homes that aren't licensed for such services, but only if they meet strict requirements: background checks for all household members, annual assessments of the home's suitability by a case manager, annual authorization from a child's legal representative, and limits on the number of children (max four, with siblings allowed to share a room) and service duration (max 46 days per year). These rules do not apply to children in foster care under chapters 260C or 260D. The bill requires providers to maintain detailed documentation of all assessments and authorizations, effective January 1, 2026.