New laws take effect in Minnesota

The average citizen may sometimes wonder exactly how all the discussion at the State Legislature will really affect them. With the DFL having control of all three branches of state government the 2023 Minnesota Legislative session was one of the busiest in recent years and a large number of new laws were passed and signed.
While not all of the laws passed went in to effect July 1, many of them did and here is a partial look are how your life might be affected:
One of the most talked about bills during the session dealt with the legalization of cannabis. As of August 1 recreational marijuana use by adults will be legal in the state.
But the framework to regulate the sale and use of cannabis will be beginning in earnest this month. The actual sale of marijuana in state-licensed business will be at least a year away.
Major changes also came to education laws.
The state increased funding for K-12 education for the next biennium by four percent for fiscal 2024 and two percent for fiscal 2025. Starting in 2026 the formula will also be tied to inflation permitting additional increases between two and three percent.
General funding for higher education was also increased by $650 million for Minnesota State Universities, the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the Mayo Foundation’s medical education program.
The largest portion of this increased funding is the $117.9 million for the North Star Promise Program that will provide free tuition to Minnesota public colleges and universities for qualifying students from families that make $80,000 or less annually.
Another change that will affect many Minnesota families with students is that free universal meals for those in K-12 is now the law. This will impact students attending academic summer school programs and starting this fall, every school enrolled in the federal governments free and reduced lunch program will be required to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students.
The federal government will pay for students who qualify for meals based on their family’s income but the state will pick up the tab for all other students.
The legislature also passed a Nurse and Patient Safety Act to protect healthcare workers and patient nurses. The bill requires incident response action plans to combat rising violence. The health professional loan forgiveness program will also expand to include direct care nurses at nonprofit hospitals.
There also will be funding for those enrolled in the federal Dairy Margin Coverage program. This bill is meant to support smaller dairy farms and will receive $4 million in funding through the state’s Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Relief Initiative.
There will also be $2.3 million for the Minnesota Farm to School program and additional funds for soil health grants.
Also, a new Minnesota Forward Fun has been recreated that will receive $500 million to facilitate new business and private investment.
There also have been some new consumer protections laws enacted.
The Commerce Finance and Policy Law sets out new protections for consumers on prescription drug costs. Another new law establishes the Strengthen Minnesota Homes act to provide grants for shoring up homes against natural disaster.