Carbon-free 2040: Minnesota now has a standard to be 100% carbon-free by 2040. This requires utilities in Minnesota to get a percentage of their electricity from carbon-free sources, starting with 80% by 2030, 90% by 2035 and 100% by 2040. Minnesota businesses and utilities are already moving toward goals of sustainability. But this aggressive timeline will force utilities to move quickly. Although nuclear power is carbon-free, no provisions for new nuclear energy production were included this legislative session.

Legalization of recreational marijuana: Marijuana is now legal for adult recreational use. This means that cannabis is now considered a “lawful consumable product” in the state. The new law established a new Office of Cannabis Management, created an expungement process for maijuana-related offenses, established regulations and licensing structures for the new industry and provided guidelines for workplaces and employee cannabis use. The new law provides restrictions and guidelines and parameters for testing employees and job applicants for cannabis use. This bill takes effect August 1, 2023.

Noncompetes banned: Noncompete and restrictive-franchise provisions in nearly all employee agreements are banned (both already in effect).

Environmental regulations: Lawmakers passed several policies that impacted environmental regulation this session.

Lawmakers focused heavily on decarbonization this session, passing policies that force individuals and companies to take steps toward sustainability, regardless of cost. The Minnesota Chamber’s ongoing goal is to ensure policymakers understand the price that businesses are paying for power and seek to maintain reliable and cost-effective power at competitive prices.

Lawmakers focused heavily on decarbonization this session, passing policies that force individuals and companies to take steps toward sustainability, regardless of cost. The Minnesota Chamber’s ongoing goal is to ensure policymakers understand the price that businesses are paying for power and seek to maintain reliable and cost-effective power at competitive prices.

The Minnesota Chamber advocates for health care policies that ensure quality health care is affordable and accessible to all Minnesotans and that enhances and supports the ability of employers to provide coverage to their employees. Unfortunately, in the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers passed policies that will increase costs and jeopardize access to doctors, hospitals and treatments.

The Legislature provided significant, ongoing increases in annual funding for our transportation infrastructure this session – totaling $3.8 billion in just the next four years – roughly $1 billion per year. While the Chamber has long-advocated for increased investment in our transportation system, it’s disappointing that the Legislature chose to make these investments largely through increased taxes and fees. With a nearly $18 billion surplus at its disposal, the resources were available to make needed investments without raising taxes. Instead, Minnesotans will pay more to register, purchase and fuel up their vehicles, and they’ll pay more when they make purchases in the metro or online.

At the beginning of session, lawmakers had a nearly $18 billion budget surplus. This historic budget position could have provided relief for job creators and fuel the growth of Minnesota’s economy. Instead, a majority of this sum was promised to spending increases. The general fund budget increased $19.3 billion for 2024/25. That’s an increase of 37% and will put the state in a structural deficit for fiscal years 2026/27.