HF 4017 Minnesota House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Unlawful shipment of infectious or pathological waste study required, and money appropriated.

This bill strengthens Minnesota's regulations on the handling of infectious or pathological waste by requiring immediate notification when such waste is mistakenly sent to unapproved facilities, mandating unannounced inspections of waste generators, and establishing significant financial penalties for violations. Facilities that receive infectious waste must report the incident to state officials with details about the waste and its source, while generators must conduct annual internal audits to ensure compliance with management plans. Penalties for unlawful transport start at $200,000 for a first offense and increase to up to $2 million for subsequent violations, with half of collected fines directed to the facility that received the waste. The legislation also allocates $50,000 to create training materials for proper waste management and disposal practices.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 5, 2026 Last action May 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

2nd Engrossment → 3rd Engrossment · 1 edit · May 12, 2026

MINOR

The bill was advanced from the 2nd to the 3rd Engrossment, updating the posting date to May 12, 2026. The core policy change refines the enforcement mechanism for unlawful waste transport by specifically targeting generators who arrange transport to unapproved facilities, rather than imposing fines on all individuals who transport waste. This clarification ensures penalties apply to those responsible for initiating the shipment to non-compliant sites.

Scope change

The scope of liability for fines was narrowed and clarified to specifically target generators who arrange transport to facilities not approved by the agency.

ENFORCEMENT

The fine provision was updated to explicitly penalize generators who arrange for infectious or pathological waste to be transported to solid waste management facilities that have not been approved by the agency to accept such waste.

Floor votes · House May 12, 2026

How they voted

125–8

Passed

Total votes 133

May 12, 2026

D Democratic66

66 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican67

59 Yea 8 Nay

88% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 13, 2026

Committee

Referred to Environment, Climate, and Legacy

upper

May 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduction and first reading

upper

May 13, 2026

Introduced

Received from House

upper

May 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill was passed as amended

lower

May 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Amended

lower

May 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee report, to adopt as amended

lower

Mar 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee report, to adopt as amended and re-refer to Ways and Means

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Introduced

Introduction and first reading, referred to Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy

lower

1 primary · 9 co-sponsors