NEWS RELEASE
Rep. Nathan Coulter
Minnesota House of Representatives
District 51B – 651-296-4218 – rep.nathan.coulter@house.mn.gov
569 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marlee Schlegel
651-296-9873 or marlee.schlegel@house.mn.gov
May 2, 2024
Rep. Coulter’s Legislation to Address Worker Exploitation Passes Minnesota House
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Last night, the Minnesota House passed the Transportation, Labor, and Housing Budget Bill. Included in the bill is legislation authored by Rep. Nathan Coulter (DFL-Bloomington) to crack down on worker exploitation on publicly-financed housing and redevelopment projects. The bill would establish that prevailing wage requirements apply to building projects using tax increment financing (TIF) or low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC), as well as public projects that receive certain state sales tax exemptions. Though both funding sources are commonly used for building public housing, the prevailing wage requirement under the bill will apply to TIF projects of $100k or more.
“Minnesotans deserve to know their public dollars aren’t subsidizing abuse and exploitation of workers,” said Rep. Coulter. “When used well, TIF, LIHTC, and sales tax exemptions can be powerful ways of generating development and redevelopment where they are most needed. Through these, Minnesota has the tools to increase the amount of affordable housing available and encourage economic development, but it’s our responsibility to ensure those needs aren’t met at the cost of workers’ lives and livelihoods.”
Minnesota has a severe and growing housing crisis, with the supply of low-cost rental housing in Minnesota decreasing by a quarter over the last decade. To address this crisis, lawmakers delivered $1 billion worth of housing investments during the 2023 legislative session – the largest in state history. In addition to the state’s housing crisis, worker exploitation is on the rise as bad actors take advantage of workers on job sites. By creating stronger oversight over the use of LIHTC and TIF dollars, we will ensure workers erecting new housing and other large development projects are not vulnerable to exploitation.
Video of the floor debate can be found here.
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