Over the course of 3 months this summer, Hospitality Minnesota hosted 10 legislative panels across the state during our Legislative Road Show. The events brought 30 legislators face-to-face with over 225 industry leaders, owners, and operators.  Hospitality Minnesota would like to thank not only the legislators and attendees but also the host locations and the 7 regional CVBs and Chambers of Commerce we partnered with to put on the events.

We have compiled the highlights of industry-specific discussions on the topics that matter most to our industry. These topics include: Cannabis, Drivers Licenses for All, Local Sales Tax, Paid Family Medical Leave, and Workforce.

CANNABIS:

• It is evident that across the state there are concerns amongst operators about the lack of clarity surrounding cannabis use on private property. Some operators have chosen to pursue no-smoking policies for their property, while others grapple with how to manage existing smoking areas.

DRIVER’S LICENSES FOR ALL:

• At the Minneapolis event, the chief author of the Driver’s License for All legislation Senator Zaynab Mohamed (District 63) thanked Hospitality Minnesota for its longtime support of the bill. The bill allows all Minnesotans, regardless of immigration status, the ability to receive a driver’s license. This will provide access to safe and reliable transportation to and from work for all.

LOCAL SALES TAX:

• At the West Metro event, Senator Ann Rest (District 43), who also chairs the tax committee, assured attendees that no city request for altering allocations of local sales tax will be heard until after May 31, 2025, thanks to the legislature’s 2-year moratorium banning any such action. This assurance is great news for our industry as it prevents revenue earned from local lodging taxes from being spent on anything other than tourism-specific initiatives. All the legislators praised and thanked Senator Rest for her bi-partisan approach and leadership on the tax committee.

PAID FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE: 

• At the Brainerd Lakes Area event, DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek highlighted how the new paid family medical leave program may be an enticement to draw workers to Minnesota to help with our workforce shortages.
• At the Bemidji and Alexandria event, legislators highlighted the challenges of one size fits all mandate and expressed they felt Greater Minnesota was left out of the process.
• At the Willmar Lakes Area event, Representative Dave Baker (District 16B) and Senator Andrew Lang (District 16) highlighted the challenges many businesses will feel in the one-size-fits-all program.
• At the West Metro event, Representative Kristin Robbins (District 37A) explained how the Paid Family Medical Leave legislation passed this session grants the DEED commissioner the ability to increase the program’s required payroll tax from its current projection of 0.7% to as high as 1.2%, depending on the results of an actuarial study due back to the legislature on October 31, 2023. Hospitality Minnesota is monitoring the potential impact of the findings of this actuarial study and will collaborate with legislators to influence the best solutions for our member businesses. Representative Andrew Myers (District 45A) stated that there were more business-friendly alternatives to the bill presented during the session and regrets they did not get more traction.
• At the East Metro event, Senator Karin Housley (District 33) described how her district is already seeing businesses move across the border to Wisconsin due to the added stress that one size fits all mandates put on employers. Representative Mark Wiens (District 41A) added that since there is no opt-out option on Paid Family Medical Leave, conservative legislators are worried that employees are unaware of what extra fees Paid Family Medical Leave will require of them. Both Senator Housley and Representative Wiens stressed the need to educate our workforce on potential added costs to them.

WORKFORCE:

• At the Rochester event, Representative Tina Liebling (District 24B) celebrated Hospitality Minnesota’s efforts to pass $600,000 in workforce investments for the state’s ProStart programs as well as the state’s first online hospitality training program. At the same event, Senator Carla Nelson (District 24) acknowledged the importance of “training people in jobs that exist” and thanked Hospitality Minnesota for our work in workforce development. Representative Kim Hicks (25A) added that much of our current workforce is at the age where they are taking care of both their parents as well as their children, indicating that employment benefits make even more difference in attracting job seekers.
• At the Minneapolis event, Representative Samantha Sencer-Mura (District 63A), Meet Minneapolis CEO, Melvin Tennant, and Senator Zaynab Mohamed all agreed that the biggest obstacles facing our state’s workforce include housing shortages and an overall lack of access to reliable transportation. Representative Sencer-Mura went further to explain how Minneapolis’s infrastructure is built for an unsustainable reliance on cars, something not found in cities across the country of similar size.
• At the West Metro event, Senator Eric Pratt (District 54) explained that as workforce shortages continue to impact our region, automating tasks that do not require as much human intervention will become more common and key in easing workforce shortages. In that same discussion, Senator Kelly Morrison (District 45) described that as more and more young people choose to leave Minnesota, the best way to aid our workforce crisis is to provide benefits and incentives to not only keep Minnesotans here; but also, to attract people from all over the country and the world to see Minnesota as a viable place to raise a family and pursue a career. Senator Morrison pointed out that recently, Minnesota was named the 5^thbest state to do business in.

As we approach another legislative session at the State Capitol this fall, Hospitality Minnesota remains committed to advocating for the interests of its members and ensuring the continued growth and success of the hospitality industry throughout the state. Stay tuned for further updates as we work together to build a stronger future for Minnesota’s vibrant hospitality sector.