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New Minnesota laws effective Jan. 1, 2024
As elected officials prepare to introduce new legislation at the start of next session, we’re reminding Minnesotans which laws from 2023 go into effect on Jan. 1.
MINNEAPOLIS — Just a few months from now, state lawmakers will gather to form the 94th Minnesota Legislature at the state’s Capitol in St. Paul.
As those elected officials prepare to introduce and lobby for new legislation going into 2024, we’re focusing on some new laws passed in 2023 that take effect on Jan. 1.
Earned Sick and Safe Time
WHAT IT DOES: This legislation guarantees earned paid leave for state employees for reasons like illness, caring for a sick family member or seeking assistance if they or a member of their family has experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking. Eligible employees include those who work at least 80 hours per year in Minnesota and are not independent contractors.
Both full and part-time employees are qualified to receive one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked and can earn up to 48 total hours – unless their employer agrees to more.
Minimum Wage
WHAT IT DOES: Workers in Minnesota who make minimum wage will see an increase in their paychecks come January. The boost, which the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry said was adjusted for inflation, will amount to $10.85 per hour for large employers and $8.85 for small employers.
The state considers large companies as those with an annual gross income of at least $500,000.
Worth noting, the statewide wage hike will not interfere with minimum wage requirements in Minneapolis and St. Paul, both of which have already implemented higher hourly rates.
Pay Discrimination
WHAT IT DOES: According to data gathered by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, women, people of color and Indigenous people are consistently paid less than white men.
A new law, known as the Preventing Pay Discrimination Act, addresses that issue by mandating employers rely on a job seeker’s “skills, education, certifications, licenses, and other qualifications, as well as the job market, to set pay.” Further, the law says all public, private and nonprofit employers in Minnesota are required to comply, and will not be allowed to ask an applicant about their current or past pay history as part of the hiring process and/or salary negotiations.
Workplace Safety
WHAT IT DOES: If warehouse distribution centers, meatpacking and poultry processing facilities, and health care systems with 100 employees or more haven’t felt the impacts of the pieces of this legislation that have already gone into effect, they will on Jan. 1.
The legislation aims to minimize and prevent musculoskeletal disorders from developing, and to lower the number of injuries suffered at work in general with a required amount of safety training and honoring an employee’s refusal to work under conditions they believe will put them in “imminent danger of death or serious physical harm.”
According to Minnesota’s Labor Department, the legislation is the first of its kind to be implemented in the United States.
Education
WHAT IT DOES: Every school district in the state will be required to provide sanitary products, free of charge, to students who menstruate. The new law states the products must be available in restrooms regularly used by students in grades 4-12.
Public Safety
WHAT IT DOES: Sometimes referred to as a “red flag law,” this piece of legislation allows a family member, law enforcement or city official or guardian to petition for an “extreme risk protection order.” The petition, which can be filed on an emergency basis, works to prohibit a person from possessing firearms for up to one year if “the respondent poses a significant danger of bodily harm for other persons or is at significant risk of suicide by possessing a firearm.”
The law states that in an emergency situation, the respondent must “present an immediate and present danger of either bodily harm to others or taking their own life.”
If a court finds a petition is appropriate, the accused is required to transfer their firearms within 24 hours to a federally licensed firearms dealer or law enforcement agency. When the petition expires, the law states firearms will be returned.
Transportation
WHAT IT DOES: Several new rules will go into effect for commuters on Jan. 1, including the availability of specialty sports license plates (Twins, Lynx, United, Timberwolves, Wild, Vikings) as well as Lions Club International and Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, with proceeds going toward their designated respective foundations. Blackout plates will also be available.
Prices for some transportation essentials are set to rise, too. The state’s gas tax is also set to change in the new year, with a hike linked to the state of inflation. However, the law says no year-over-year percentage change is allowed to exceed 3%.
Additionally, taxes on motor vehicle registrations will increase beginning Jan. 1, as well as motor vehicle sales tax rates (from 6.5% to 6.85%).
For a list of every piece of legislation passed into law in 2023, click here.
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The chief was discussing the shooting of Davis Maturi, who for months had been contact with the MPD about escalating harassment from his neighbor, John Sawchak.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said his department “failed” after a man was shot, allegedly by his neighbor in the city.
“We failed this victim. 100%, because that should not have happened to him,” said O’Hara in a Sunday evening press conference.
The chief was discussing the shooting of Davis Moturi, who for months had been contact with the MPD about escalating harassment from his neighbor, John Sawchak.
Sawchak was charged with shooting Moturi as he was pruning a tree on his front yard on Oct. 23.
Moturi remains hospitalized with a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion.
O’Hara and the MPD came under a heavy attack from the Minneapolis City Council after it was revealed that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office had charged Sawchak, but the MPD had not arrested him.
“MPD still has not arrested the suspect despite charges from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for Attempted Murder, 1st Degree Assault, Stalking, and Harassment and a request from the HCAO for a warrant with $1 million bail. MPD told the HCAO they do not intend to execute the warrant ‘for reasons of officer safety,’” said the letter from the Minneapolis City Council.
“We failed to act urgently enough,” said O’Hara, before citing staffing concerns as a contributing factor.
It was a stark difference from the tone the chief initially took on Friday, then saying “If we wound up in a deadly situation, the headlines would read ‘MPD shot mentally ill person’.”
On Sunday, O’Hara said his previous comments were meant as a response to accusations that the MPD “didn’t care,” about the case.
“This is the result of over-politicizing policing in Minneapolis,” said O’Hara.
O’Hara stated that the MPD will, for the moment, continue waiting for Sawchak to exit his home to arrest him, but the chief added “We are running out of options before we have to escalate the matter.”
The heated back-and-forth between the city council and the chief continued earlier Sunday when Minneapolis City Council member Emily Koski released a statement questioning O’Hara and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey actions in the matter.
“Our Chief of Police is hiding behind excuses, and our Mayor…is just hiding.” said Koski in the statement.
Cities across Minnesota expanded voting hours and locations for the upcoming presidential election.
MINNEAPOLIS — Expanded early voting hours and locations are giving Minnesotans more opportunities to cast their ballots before the general election.
Over 1,000 people visited Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services over the weekend to make their voice heard.
“We have always voted as a family. We have this right as Americans to vote, and we wanted him to know right from the get-go that you’ve got to vote in every single election because this is our voice, this is our opportunity to really pick the future that we want based on the candidate that we vote for,” said Kelly Wallander.
Kelly and her husband, Claude, picked up their son Harrison from college, so they could all vote in the general election for the first time as a family.
“It’s interesting. It’s cool to see elections on TV, basically as long as I can remember, and now know that I’m a part of it and being able to vote with my parents is cool,” Harrison said.
“I like voting early just because exactly you miss the line and you get it in there,” Claude said.
Director of Elections and Voter Services for the City of Minneapolis Katie Smith said the past two days have been busy.
“We’ve had really solid turnout. We’ve had about 42,000 people who have already voted in this election,” she said.
She anticipates next weekend will be even busier.
“Every year we kind of looking at how many people we’re planning for and how many people are coming through. We try to always expand our service hours as we get closer and closer to the election,” she said.
Smith said they’ve also started using pop-up voting locations to reach more people.
“In 2023, there was a legislative change that allows for us to have sites around the city that are open for different lengths of time as well as different dates form our main site. We’ve really taken the opportunity to host some one-day early vote pop-ups… in some unique and really great spaces throughout the city,” Smith said.
Sunday’s pop-up was at the Capri Theater. Paige Gayle voted here along with her sister.
“I like early voting because it’s convenient, it’s fast and it’s quick,” she said. “I work on actual election day, so for me it was important to get out beforehand.”
Smith said offering more voting opportunities for people in Minneapolis is crucial to their work.
“It’s so important to be able to offer all of these voting methods so that people can find something that works really well for them and make their voting plan,” Smith said.
Voters tell KARE 11 one of the perks to early voting is little to no wait. Voting early also gives them peace of mind and is one less thing to do on election day.
“It’s so much more convenient. This way I don’t have to worry about it. I’ll still be working on election day, so I would have had to go in before or after work. Now, I don’t have to worry about it. I know my vote will be counted,” Macy Bauers said.
Bauers said she votes in every election and hopes more people take advantage of early voting in the coming days.
The two adults who were killed were both male, according to the department, which is investigating the shooting.
MINNEAPOLIS — Three people were shot, two of them fatally in a Minneapolis encampment on Sunday afternoon, according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
The shooting occurred on the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue shortly after 3 p.m., said the MPD.
The two adults who were killed were both male, according to the department, which is investigating the shooting.
A woman was also taken to the hospital after the shooting and is in critical condition, said the MPD.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
