Rep. Kim Hicks

Maddy summaryHF 2598 appropriates $1,936,000 from the health care access fund to the Commissioner of Human Services for one-time grants to navigator organizations. These are organizations with active MNsure grant services contracts that helped enroll people in medical assistance or MinnesotaCare during Q2 2025. The grant amount for each organization is based on the number of successful enrollments they assisted during that period. Funds are available until June 30, 2027, and are specifically for organizations currently serving as MNsure navigators.

Maddy summaryHF 775 requires Minnesota school districts to create written policies ensuring parents of children with disabilities can fully participate in their child's education. Specifically, districts must establish processes for providing free language assistance (like interpreters or translated documents) for non-English-speaking parents and reasonable accommodations (such as sign language interpreters or modified meeting formats) for parents with disabilities, without requiring health information disclosure. These policies must be posted in multiple languages on district websites, shared annually with parents, and kept confidential. The bill directly affects school districts and parents interacting with special education programs, effective July 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHF 2040 directs Minnesota's Commissioner of Human Services to provide regular updates and seek federal approval for children's mental health programs. It funds gaps in children's residential facilities, establishes crisis stabilization facilities, and creates a legislative task force to address issues in residential care. The bill also requires licensing for facilities serving youth with sexual behavior concerns and mandates a financial study on residential facility funding. These changes aim to improve access to mental health services for children, particularly those in foster care, juvenile justice, or under protective services, with specific funding appropriations included.

Maddy summaryHF 2010 raises Minnesota's age of consent for criminal sexual conduct from 16 to 18 years old in cases where the offender is 22 or older. The bill amends Minnesota Statutes 609.344 and 609.345 to remove consent as a defense and criminalize sexual contact between minors aged 16-17 and partners 22+ years old. It specifically targets situations where the age gap exceeds 36 months (3 years) and the offender holds authority over the minor. The law takes effect August 1, 2025, imposing criminal penalties for violations that previously might have been treated as consensual.

Maddy summaryHF 1958 modifies Minnesota's individual income tax brackets for 2025 tax returns. It raises the income thresholds for each tax rate, meaning more income is taxed at lower rates before higher rates apply. For example, married couples filing jointly pay 5.35% on income up to $47,620 (up from $38,770), and 6.8% on income between $47,620 and $189,180 (up from $38,770-$154,020). The bill directly affects Minnesota residents who file state income tax returns, particularly middle-income earners whose taxable income falls within the revised brackets. The changes are effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024.

Maddy summaryHF 2591 establishes a new fifth tax bracket for Minnesota individual income tax, targeting high earners to replace revenue lost from federal Medicaid funding changes. The bill amends tax law to create a top income bracket (applying to income over $1.667 million for married couples filing jointly) with a rate set by the commissioner of revenue. This rate must be calculated to generate revenue equal to the amount of federal Medicaid funds Minnesota lost, as certified by the commissioner of management and budget. The new tax rate applies to taxable years 2026 and 2027, affecting only taxpayers in the highest income bracket.

Maddy summaryHF 2384 establishes a grant program to help counties clean up blighted properties and address environmental contamination on tax-forfeited or tax-foreclosed properties they own or hold in trust. The bill appropriates funds for fiscal years 2026-2027, allowing counties to apply for grants to cover remediation costs, testing, monitoring, and fixing unsafe conditions. Counties must submit detailed applications proving property ownership, contamination evidence, blight documentation, and a remediation plan. The Pollution Control Agency will award grants, prioritizing counties' ability to fund projects without grants and ensuring statewide distribution.

Maddy summaryHF 2506 establishes a new premium subsidy program administered by MNsure, providing a 20% subsidy on monthly gross premiums for eligible individuals purchasing individual health insurance plans in Minnesota. This directly affects Minnesota residents enrolled in individual market plans who are not receiving federal advance premium tax credits or public coverage, as well as health insurance carriers that receive payments from MNsure. The program begins January 1, 2026, with MNsure paying health carriers directly for each eligible individual's coverage, excluding the subsidy from eligibility calculations for other state programs. The bill also ends the existing Minnesota Premium Security Plan (MPS) after December 31, 2025, and appropriates funds to support the new subsidy program.

Maddy summaryHF 1169 directs Minnesota's Commissioner of Children, Youth, and Families to create a plan by January 2026 to reduce paperwork in child protection cases. The plan must involve counties, local agencies, Tribal governments, and include specific changes, an implementation timeline, and ongoing input procedures to benefit foster care providers, tribes, counties, and child placement agencies. The bill also provides funding to improve the Social Services Information System and appropriates money for these efforts. This focuses on streamlining administrative processes without changing child protection standards.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a state grant program to support community care hubs that connect health care providers with organizations addressing basic needs like food insecurity, housing instability, and transportation access. It appropriates $8.9 million for the grant and $1 million for evaluation, requiring grantees to coordinate social care services, centralize administrative operations, and report outcomes. Eligible applicants must already be recognized federal community care hubs with contracts to provide services to health plan members. The program begins July 1, 2025, aiming to create sustainable pathways for addressing health-related social needs across Minnesota.