Sen. Mary Kunesh-Podein

Maddy summaryThis bill appropriates $2 million from Minnesota's arts and cultural heritage fund to the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games organization. The funding supports celebrating Minnesota's arts and cultural heritage during the 2026 event, including the design and construction of the Special Olympics Cauldron. It directly affects the Special Olympics USA Games organization by providing grant money for specific event-related activities. The bill is a straightforward funding measure with no policy changes beyond the allocation.

Maddy summaryThis bill appropriates $5 million for fiscal year 2026 and $5 million for fiscal year 2027 from the general fund to fund "community solutions for healthy child development grants" under Minnesota Statutes §145.9285. It directly provides funding to community organizations offering services focused on child development, including early learning, health, and family support programs. The key mechanism is the dedicated state funding allocation for these specific grants, administered by the commissioner of health. This is a funding measure, not a new policy, with no changes to existing program requirements.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires Minnesota school districts to provide teachers who work with students having Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or family service plans with four additional paid days each school year to complete special education due process paperwork. School districts must negotiate staffing plans with teacher representatives for these days or use funds to hire substitutes. The state will calculate and distribute annual "due process aid" based on average costs, adjusting future funding by the previous year's actual expenses. This applies to all school districts, including charter schools and cooperatives, starting with the 2025-2026 school year.

Maddy summarySF 2681 appropriates $5 million for a manufactured home down payment assistance program and $5 million for a manufactured home park cooperative purchase program, both funded from Minnesota's housing development fund for fiscal year 2026. The down payment program provides grants to NeighborWorks Home Partners to help manufactured home buyers cover down payments, allowing combined use with other assistance. The cooperative program funds Northcountry Cooperative Foundation to help convert manufactured home parks to cooperative ownership through loans, subsidies, or guarantees, with a 30-year covenant requiring the land to remain a manufactured home park. These funds are one-time appropriations directly affecting manufactured home buyers and park owners seeking cooperative ownership.

Maddy summaryThis bill appropriates an unspecified amount from the general fund for Minnesota's "Developing Markets for Continuous-Living Cover Crops Program" in fiscal year 2026. It directly supports farmers using continuous-living cover crops by funding market development efforts. The commissioner of agriculture must submit two reports detailing fund usage (including up to 6.5% for administrative costs) by February 1, 2026, and 2027. The funds are a one-time appropriation available until June 30, 2028, with no new policy changes beyond funding allocation.

Maddy summaryThis bill appropriates funds for a program that provides grants to organizations purchasing and distributing food within Minnesota communities. It requires grantees to source 100% of food from Minnesota, prioritize farmers with limited market access, and distribute food at no cost in areas with low supermarket access or high concentrations of vulnerable populations like seniors or people with disabilities. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, businesses, Tribal governments, and local governments. The program aims to support local agriculture while addressing food access challenges in underserved communities.

Maddy summaryThis bill appropriates $150,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 as a one-time grant to Metro Deaf School. It directly provides funding for services to young children with deaf, deafblind, or hard-of-hearing disabilities who are not eligible for existing state funding under Minnesota Statutes §124E.11(h). The funds will support the school's programs for this specific student group. The bill does not create new eligibility criteria or alter existing laws, only providing targeted financial support for an existing service.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires Minnesota's education commissioner to update the state's school performance system (North Star) to stop counting students who opt out of state assessments in school or district achievement scores. It directly affects school districts, students who choose not to take standardized tests, and the state's accountability reporting. Key changes include mandating that districts no longer report scores for opted-out students and excluding these students from calculations used to determine school performance ratings. The policy changes take effect for the 2025-2026 school year.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases annual funding by $2.9 million for statewide licenses to online library databases in Minnesota. It directly provides resources to school media centers, public libraries, state government agency libraries, and college/university libraries. The funding, allocated for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, supports access to digital research materials through the Electronic Library for Minnesota program. The appropriation comes from the state general fund and is administered by the Department of Education.

Maddy summarySF 787 modifies Minnesota's open meeting law (Minnesota Statutes §13D.02) to remove the current annual limit of three remote participation instances for local government board members. The bill allows any member of a public body (like city councils or school boards) to participate remotely without restriction, provided they meet existing requirements: all participants must be able to see/hear each other, the public at physical locations must have full access to discussions, at least one member must be physically present, and votes must be by roll call. This change directly affects local government bodies by streamlining remote participation during meetings. The bill maintains other core open meeting principles but eliminates the previous three-time-per-year cap for remote attendance.