The Legislature ended their 2023 legislative session on May 19th, 2023. The session brought
significant changes to businesses as a whole. Taking a step back, last fall the DFL won both the
House and the Senate giving the Democrats what is called a ‘Trifecta’ which assisted in passing
legislation they considered important to Minnesota. The Trifecta began by introducing legislation
that they had been wanting to pass for several years.
2023 Legislation
A critically, important piece to CAM was introduced, This bill addressed a MN Supreme Court
decision from last fall. HF 2315 (Koegel)/ SF 2290 (Howe) in St. Matthews v. State Farm held that
the an insurance carrier was not required to pay for required state building code updates to a
portion of a building that was not part of an occurrence damaging a building.
The problem is MN Building Codes require a home that is undergoing renovation due to a storm
occurrences be brought up to code. (MN Stats. 65A.10) Up until this MN Supreme Court decision,
insureds were always covered for these damages and now there is concern that insurance companies
will start deny or at the very least delay claims on homes that have been affected by a storm
occurrence where there is no damage but the state building code requires updates. In some cases,
the homeowner can’t afford the code upgrade and either they won’t make repairs so they don’t incur
the costs, or they may begin repairs only to find that code requires additional costs they cannot
afford. If the repair has begun, contractors will be in the unenviable position to either (1) leave
the home in disrepair if the homeowner cannot afford it (E.G, tarping a roof instead of re-shingling
it); or (2) pay those repairs out of pocket to avoid licensing violations and liability for the
work.
CAM was not able to secure a hearing but generated lots of attention to this issues during our Day
on the Hill.
The Subcontractor Wage Theft bill was closely monitored and lobbied by CAM. This bill, HF 1859
(Fesit)/SF 1988 (Seeberger) which was passed and signed into law makes contractor strictly liable
for wages or worker misclassification of a downstream subcontractor if an upstream subcontractor
fails to pay its workers even if the upstream subcontractor has been paid in full. Basically, it
makes the contractor liable for someone else’s mistakes. The costs of construction will skyrocket
to cover this risk.
Effective Date – August 1, 2023
CAM was successful in holding back a bill that would have required residential roofing codes that
didn’t make sense in MN. HF 1753 (Bahner) – This bill would authorize the State Building Codes
through DOLI to require residential roof coverings to do the following: (1) when asphalt shingles
are used, the shingles must be Class 4 impact-resistant shingles; (2) flashing must be installed as
closed valley or laced valley; and (3) ridge vents must be installed at the roof peak.
At this time, the bill does not have a Senate companion. The bill has the chance of coming back
next year and passing. CAM will work with the author next session to either fix the bill or kill
it.
Below is a timeline of new state law that will affect your business and when it goes into effect. Also, here is a link to the DLI Legislative Update with some more information and helpful links regarding each change.
Timeline for Action Taken by the Legislature:
July 1, 2023
• Lactating employees, pregnancy accommodations, unpaid leave updates and small business exemptions
removed
• New and increased OSHA penalties, classification of citation data; authority to inspect employer
exclusion
• Motor vehicle sales tax increases
August 1, 2023
• Stricter construction worker wage protections
• Recreational marijuana legal January 1, 2024
• Earned Safe and Sick Time
• Ban established on asking about pay history
• Tab fee increases
• Gas tax indexed to inflation July 1, 2024
• 50 cent per-delivery fee on retail packaging delivered over $100
• Minnesota OSHA fines/ penalties indexed to inflation January 1, 2026
• New Paid Family and Medical Leave mandate