What did — and didn’t — pass during the special session

After weeks of deliberations and a one-day special session, the Minnesota Legislature has finished its work.

There were impassioned speeches and some disagreements, but legislators mostly stayed on track and finished passing their agenda of 14 bills before a Tuesday morning deadline.

That included the remaining pieces of the state’s $66 billion budget, which needed to be finished by July 1 in order to avoid a partial government shutdown. The bills are on their way to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk for his signature.

Here are some of the key proposals that passed — and a few that didn’t — in the Legislature’s one-day special session.

Bonding bill: Minnesota will invest in roads, bridges, dams, drinking water and other public infrastructure to the tune of $700 million under legislation passed by lawmakers.

Lawmakers last passed a capital investment package, or bonding bill, two years ago. Unions and local communities were ramping up pressure on lawmakers before the special session to address the backlog of projects across the state.

Undocumented health care repeal: Lawmakers voted to remove adult undocumented immigrants from MinnesotaCare, the state’s health insurance program for the working poor, while allowing children to remain enrolled. Adults will lose coverage at the end of the year.

The vote was among the most contentious of this legislative session and came after an outcry from progressive lawmakers who protested a budget deal between Walz and legislative leaders that included the provision.

Electric vehicle fees: Legislators agreed to increase the EV registration surcharge from $75 to at least $150 and add a fee for plug-in hybrids to at least $75. Those fees will increase based on the value of the vehicle, but both of those fees will drop with the introduction of a new per-kilowatt hour fee on public charging stations in 2027.

E-bike rebate changes: The transportation budget revamps the state’s e-bike rebate program. It will now be a lottery system and limited to residents with a disability or those with relatively low incomes. Those income limits are $78,000 for joint filers, $62,000 for heads of a household and $41,000 for all others.

Data center regulations: Lawmakers approved new regulations for an influx of large-scale data centers. Data centers will have to pay for energy conservation work, and abide by policy meant to protect the state’s water and climate goals and ensure that the electric bills of other customers won’t rise because data centers use a huge amount of electricity. The Legislature also agreed to extend lucrative sales tax breaks for the industry on computers, servers, software, and cooling and energy equipment, but eliminated an exemption for electricity use.

Unemployment benefits for miners: One of the budget bills would extend unemployment insurance for more than 600 workers laid off from mines on the Iron Range, granting another 26 weeks of pay to workers at Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs’ facilities in Hibbing and Virginia.

Cannabis tax increases: Lawmakers passed a tax bill that will hike the state’s tax on recreational cannabis products from 10% to 15%. Legislators also repealed language that requires the state to share 20% of cannabis tax revenue with local governments. The two changes would generate more revenue for the state as it seeks to head off a possible multibillion-dollar budget deficit a few years from now.

Blue Ribbon Commission: Lawmakers created a Blue Ribbon Commission charged with finding $250 million in savings from special education costs. If the commission does not identify savings or the next Legislature does not approve them, the state Department of Education will be responsible for making the recommended budget adjustments.

Changes for hospitals: Hospitals gained two wins when the Legislature approved a health budget bill that allows them to continue to charge facility fees to patients at affiliated outpatient clinics. The legislation also allows Minnesota to pursue a directed payments program, which could maximize federal Medicaid payments to hospitals and especially help safety-net hospitals that serve patients in poverty. The state also can pursue federal waivers that substantially boost payments to mental health providers.

Metro area sales tax changes: After outcry from local county leaders, lawmakers pulled a last-minute addition to the transportation bill that would have taken half the proceeds of a metro sales tax approved in 2023 to help counties pay for road and transit projects.

The Metropolitan Council already gets most of the ¾-cent sales tax that raised over $500 million last year. Lawmakers wanted to cut the counties’ share in half, to 8.5%, and dedicate the other half to building out the metro’s bus rapid transit system.

Earned sick and safe time rollbacks: Despite an attempt by some moderate Democrats during the regular session, Minnesota lawmakers did not exempt small Minnesota businesses and farms from a state law requiring employers to provide sick leave to their workers. The Legislature adopted some small tweaks regarding shift switching and when a worker may be required to supply their employer with a doctor’s note to excuse them from work.

Chris Magan, Jeremy Olson, Walker Orenstein and Ryan Faircloth of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.