House workforce panel begins work on supplemental finance bill; vote expected Friday

It wasn’t quite like speed dating, but close.

The House Workforce Development Finance and Policy Committee heard 13 bills Wednesday, giving presenters just two minutes to talk about proposals, most of which appear in the committee’s supplemental finance bill.

Sponsored by Rep. Hodan Hassan (DFL-Mpls), HF5205 proposes granting $16.75 million among more than 40 organizations and municipalities for job training programs and other workforce development initiatives.

Unveiled Wednesday in the form of a delete-all amendment, no action was taken. The committee is scheduled to hear more testimony, consider amendments and approve the bill Friday.

Committee staff said the plan is to merge this bill with the amended economic development supplemental finance bill in the House Ways and Means Committee.

All proposed appropriations are one-time funding requests for fiscal year 2025.

Some of the larger appropriations include:

• $2 million to the PFund Foundation for grants supporting LGBTQ individuals and their families relocating to Minnesota;
• $1 million to Lakeview Methodist Health Care to expand child care program capacity;
• $1 million to Brooklyn Park for a biotech innovation district;
• $1 million to Somali Community Resettlement Services for job training and job placement initiatives;
• $1 million to WomenVenture for supporting child care providers;
• $1 million to the Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce;
• $1 million to African Immigrants Community Services for workforce development for new Americans;
• $750,000 to the Riverside Plaza Tenant Association for training in health care, technology, and construction or skilled trades industries; and
• $700,000 to the Shakopee area workforce development scholarship pilot program.

Appropriations would come from the Workforce Development Fund, a special account in the state treasury funded by a 0.10% tax per year on all taxable wages paid by Minnesota employers.

[MORE: View the spreadsheet]

Funds would be distributed by the Department of Employment and Economic Development via grants to state or local government units, nonprofit organizations, community action agencies, business organizations or associations, or labor organizations.

The department also presented its proposals, contained in HF3450, HF3451, and HF3452. Commissioner Matt Varilek said the bottom line for those items is unique in one way: it proposes returning $7 million to the General Fund.

The department mistakenly requested $2 million in last year’s budget bill for continued appropriations in fiscal year 2026 that it doesn’t need.

Plus, because the state was not selected as the host site of the 2027 World Expo (Belgrade, Serbia won), the department recommends returning $5 million of the previously appropriated funds back to the General Fund.

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What’s in the bill?

The following are selected bills that have been incorporated in whole or in part into the workforce development finance bill:

• HF3046 (Frazier)
• HF3194 (Tabke)
• HF3386 (Finke)
• HF3475 (Mueller)
• HF3537 (Sencer-Mura)
• HF3708 (Sencer-Mura)
• HF3709 (Sencer-Mura)
• HF3849 (Frazier)
• HF3850 (Frazier)
• HF3999 (Sencer-Mura)
• HF4080 (Olson, B.)
• HF4690 (Frazier)
• HF4848 (Hassan)
• HF4930 (Anderson, P.H.)
• HF4943 (Kotyza-Witthuhn)
• HF4962 (Zeleznikar)
• HF4968 (Agbaje)
• HF5012 (Hassan)
• HF5019 (Frazier)
• HF5044 (Hassan)
• HF5048 (Hassan)
• HF5063 (Hassan)
• HF5064 (Her)
• HF5065 (Hussein)
• HF5093 (Her)
• HF5136 (Wolgamott)
• HF5143 (Nelson, M.)
• HF5179 (Vang)
• HF5183 (Noor)
• HF5230 (Vang)
• HF5243 (Hassan)
• HF5254 (Zeleznikar)
• HF5255 (Zeleznikar)
• HF5257 (Zeleznikar)
• HF5296 (Vang)