Rep. Jimmy Gordon

Maddy summaryHF 3489 establishes new safety rules for school field trips in Minnesota, requiring that school staff, contractors, or volunteers never be alone with students during any field trip (including overnight trips), effective July 1, 2026. The bill also adds "grooming" (defined under Minnesota Statute 609.352) as a specific criminal offense that automatically triggers license revocation for educators without a hearing if convicted. Additionally, it mandates school districts to report certain educator terminations or suspensions related to misconduct to licensing boards within 10 days. This bill directly affects school staff, school districts, and educator licensing boards by changing field trip protocols, expanding automatic license revocation grounds, and requiring new reporting procedures.

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies Minnesota's gambling laws by increasing the maximum cash prize for paddle tickets from $70 to $200 and raising the maximum ticket price from $2 to $5. It directly affects gambling organizations that sell paddle tickets, which are a type of lottery game. The changes are made to Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 349.211, subdivision 2b, which governs paddlewheel prizes.

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies prize and ticket limits for paddlewheel gambling in Minnesota. It directly affects organizations that operate paddlewheel games by changing the maximum cash prize to $70 and setting a merchandise prize limit at $200 fair market value. The legislation also increases the maximum ticket price from $2 to $5. These changes update Minnesota Statutes 349.211, subdivision 2b to reflect the new gambling regulations.

Maddy summaryHF 1849 proposes a constitutional amendment to limit Minnesota's governor and lieutenant governor to two terms each. If approved by voters in 2026, the amendment would change the state constitution to state that no person may be elected more than twice to either office. The amendment requires a statewide vote at the 2026 general election with a specific ballot question asking voters to approve term limits beginning in 2030. This change would affect all future governors and lieutenant governors, but would not apply to terms served before 2030.

Maddy summaryThis bill repeals existing affirmative action requirements for state agencies in Minnesota, removing the mandate for the state to establish specific goals and programs to increase the employment of members of protected groups. While the legislation eliminates these targeted initiatives, it retains the policy that state hiring and performance evaluations must be based on merit and free from discrimination based on race, gender, disability, or other protected characteristics. The law also keeps in place a requirement for agency managers to receive training on identifying and mitigating bias in the hiring and evaluation processes. Ultimately, the bill shifts the state's approach from proactive affirmative action plans to a focus on equal opportunity and nondiscrimination without setting numerical targets for diverse representation.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes adding a new section to the Minnesota Constitution that explicitly states a preborn child has a right to life. It defines a preborn child as a living human fetus from fertilization until live birth and requires voter approval at the 2026 general election for the amendment to take effect in 2027. The text includes specific language ensuring that medical treatment to save a pregnant person's life or the removal of a nonviable or deceased fetus remains allowed.

Maddy summaryThis bill temporarily suspends the state motor fuels tax in Minnesota for a specific period in 2026, directly affecting drivers, fuel retailers, and businesses that purchase gasoline and diesel. Under the legislation, the tax rate is set to zero cents per gallon or per thousand cubic feet for all fuel types during the designated timeframe, which begins shortly after the bill is enacted and ends in early September 2026. To offset the lost revenue from this suspension, the state will transfer money from its general fund to the Department of Transportation to cover the costs that would have been collected from fuel taxes. The bill also allocates a one-time appropriation to the Department of Revenue to cover the administrative expenses required to implement this temporary tax pause.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Minnesota statutes to update pension contribution rates and annuity calculation formulas for teachers in the state's retirement systems. It establishes specific employer contribution percentages for certain districts like Minneapolis and Duluth while adjusting the rates for other districts. Additionally, the legislation modifies how retirement annuities are computed based on years of service, distinguishing between different periods of employment and membership types. These changes directly affect teachers and school districts in Minnesota by altering the financial terms of their retirement benefits.

Maddy summaryHF 3295 amends Minnesota's Open Meeting Law (Minnesota Statutes 13D.065) to allow public bodies like city councils and school boards to broadcast meetings via social media. It requires advance notice of the broadcast and how to access it, and clarifies that social media comments during broadcasts are not government records unless the notice specifies otherwise. Public bodies that accept online comments as testimony must establish their own rules for handling them. This directly affects local government bodies holding public meetings in Minnesota.

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies how Minnesota school districts must notify voters about operating referendums and changes the rules for renewing these levies without a new vote. It requires that ballot notices for renewing existing levies at the same per-pupil rate must now state that the referendum may be renewed once by the school board, while also updating the standard notice language to reflect this possibility. Under new provisions, a school board can renew an expiring referendum without seeking voter approval only if the original ballot included a specific renewal statement and the new per-pupil amount matches the expiring rate or follows the original inflation adjustment. These changes to the notification process and renewal authority will take effect for referenda conducted on or after July 1, 2026.