Sen. Liz Boldon

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits Minnesota cities, counties, and towns from penalizing homeless individuals for specific activities on public land, such as sleeping, eating, storing belongings, or occupying parked vehicles. It establishes a legal defense for homeless people charged with these actions if they do not have access to an adequate alternative indoor space, which is defined as a free, accessible, and indefinite housing option that allows for family and pets. The legislation also grants the state attorney general the power to enforce these rules and allows individuals to sue for damages or court orders if their rights are violated. Finally, the bill overrides any local laws that conflict with these protections, ensuring a consistent statewide standard for how public spaces are used by homeless residents.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows nonprofit limited liability companies to apply for licenses as child-placing agencies in Minnesota, expanding the types of organizations that can legally place children for adoption. It also modifies background study requirements for childcare workers, allowing the commissioner to determine the timing of these studies rather than requiring them at every reapplication, while maintaining safety standards through fingerprinting and criminal history checks. Additionally, the bill updates definitions of family relationships for foster care purposes to include important friends of children or their parents, and clarifies bonding requirements for adoption agencies to ensure proper record-keeping if an agency ceases operations. These changes affect adoption agencies, childcare providers, foster care families, and state licensing officials by adjusting regulatory frameworks for child welfare services.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a Greenhouse Gas Pollution Superfund in Minnesota that would charge fossil fuel companies for emissions produced between 1995 and 2026. The program targets businesses that extracted or refined fossil fuels and are responsible for more than one billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions during that period. Money collected from these charges would be placed in a dedicated account to fund climate change adaptation projects for state, local, and Tribal governments, as well as disadvantaged communities. The state commissioner would determine how much each company must pay based on their emissions and distribute funds according to adopted rules.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes safety and disclosure requirements for artificial intelligence developers in Minnesota, requiring them to create and maintain safety protocols before deploying AI models. Developers must document technical protections against critical harm, conduct testing to evaluate risks, and publish redacted versions of their safety protocols while keeping full records for five years after deployment. The legislation defines critical harm as incidents causing serious injury, death, or significant financial damage, and prohibits deploying AI models that pose an unreasonable risk of such harm. Companies creating AI systems would need to implement cybersecurity measures, maintain testing records, and allow state officials to review their safety procedures.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits Minnesota municipalities from signing nondisclosure agreements that prevent them from sharing information about land development, economic projects, or programs funded with public money. It applies to counties, cities, towns, school districts, and other local government entities, as well as their employees and representatives. Any such agreements that violate this rule would be automatically invalid and unenforceable, though the rest of the contract would remain in effect. Municipalities must also publicly disclose any contracts that attempt to restrict information sharing under these rules. The law takes effect immediately after final passage and applies to agreements entered into, renewed, or extended on or after that date.

Maddy summaryThis bill appropriates $4,700,000 from the state's general fund to support senior nutrition programs in Minnesota for fiscal year 2027. The funds are designated for the commissioner of human services to administer nutrition services for older adults as outlined in state law. This is a one-time appropriation intended to provide financial resources for these programs without establishing ongoing funding commitments. The legislation directly affects the state's human services department and the senior nutrition programs it oversees.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs Minnesota's commissioner of health to conduct a comprehensive study on how the state can support innovations in cell and gene therapies for treating rare diseases. The study will examine current research capacity, healthcare infrastructure, workforce needs, funding options, and access barriers across the state, with input from patients, healthcare providers, industry experts, and other stakeholders. By January 1, 2028, the commissioner must submit a report to the legislature with findings and recommendations for strategic investments, policy changes, and regulatory actions to advance these therapies. The bill also defines key terms such as cell and gene therapy and rare disease to establish a clear framework for the study.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits artificial intelligence systems from directly providing professional services to consumers in Minnesota without human oversight. It defines professional services as those requiring state licensure and requires that any AI delivering such services must be operated by a credentialed professional or their representative during the service. The law allows credentialed professionals to use AI as a tool to assist their work but prevents AI from independently performing licensed activities. Violations of this prohibition would be enforced by the state attorney general under existing enforcement mechanisms.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires all public Minnesota K-12 schools to implement either a statewide anonymous threat reporting system or a locally designed system by July 1, 2028. The system must offer 24/7 anonymous reporting via mobile app and multilingual crisis centers, include evidence-based student violence prevention training, and coordinate with school teams and law enforcement. Schools using their own system must provide crisis center staffing, train school teams, and promote public awareness. Nonpublic schools are exempt, and schools using the state system must annually inform parents about the reporting options. The bill mandates these requirements to address safety concerns through accessible anonymous reporting mechanisms.

Maddy summaryThis bill restricts corporate ownership of single-family homes by prohibiting any corporate owner (including corporations, partnerships, or real estate investment trusts) from owning 50 or more such homes. It increases the deed tax rate to 0.5% for transfers of single-family homes to corporate owners (from the standard 0.0033%), with revenues dedicated to affordable housing programs. The bill also creates a statewide landlord database and includes exceptions for government entities, affordable housing nonprofits, and homeowners with homestead property. These changes aim to limit large-scale corporate control of residential housing while funding affordability initiatives.