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A slate of new state laws and the next state budget will take hold on Tuesday, teeing up new fraud-mitigation measures in state government, additional regulations for social media influencers and an official state fossil.
Most of the changes come as part of state budget bills passed during the 2025 legislative session. Lawmakers took a more moderate approach to spending, passing a $66 billion two-year state budget, citing concerns about a possible shortfall possible down the road.
Here’s a rundown of some of the laws that debut.
Measures to root out fraud
After a concerted push to prevent misuse of state funds this year, lawmakers advanced a set of new laws around fraud. They include those that’ll freeze state payments if a recipient is suspected to have committed fraud and allow more data sharing between agencies. The goal is to flag people or organizations that have committed fraud or are suspected to have misused state dollars.
State agencies will be able to put up to a 60-day pause on funding for organizations believed to have committed fraud. That freeze would occur if agency officials have a preponderance of evidence that a person or group committed fraud to receive payments. That’s a lower threshold than was previously in place to hold back state funds. State officials say it could help prevent misuse of Minnesota taxpayer money.
The changes also allow for broader data sharing between state and federal agencies and law enforcement groups, providing more information about organizations or individuals who have misused state dollars in the past or have been suspected of committing fraud to obtain state money. Officials said the change could prevent problematic applicants from moving from one agency to another and committing fraud.
State employees involved in managing grants will also undergo extra training. More people will have an obligation under law to report potentially unlawful use of public funds. The laws will also expand whistleblower protections for state employees who call out potential fraud.
Boating permits needed
Starting Tuesday, boaters age 12 to 21 will need a permit to operate a motorized watercraft in Minnesota. The law was approved in 2023, but goes into effect this year. It aims to educate people on the environmental impacts of boating, along with preventing the spread of invasive species and ways to cut down on shoreline erosion. Boat rental companies will be barred from renting watercraft to anyone younger than 18. The new law also requires the groups to ensure that the prospective renter has a valid watercraft operator’s license or a valid exemption.
Outdoor activity changes
Anglers across the state will be able to fish for bass year round, under a change made by the Legislature. It makes fishing for largemouth or smallmouth bass a year-round season.
Hunters will again be able to use a crossbow during open archery seasons for hunting and fishing. The crossbow exception was first allowed in 2023, and was set to end at the end of 2025. But that has now been extended through 2026.
The state has repealed the shotgun-only hunting zone in parts of southern Minnesota. The law required the use of shotguns only in hunting in certain areas. But legislators who pushed for the change say the shotgun-only zone was a relic of a time when shotguns were considered safer than rifles. They say technology has changed that, and now rifles are as safe or safer than shotguns.
‘Kidfluencers’ protections
A new state law meant to protect minor children appearing on the internet goes into effect Tuesday. The law establishes regulations, compensation requirements and enforcement provisions for minor children appearing on social media when the content generates compensation. It’s intended to support “kidfluencers” who appear online regularly.
“Regardless of their age, people deserve to be compensated for their work and children deserve a chance to consent to how their image is kept online,” Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, told MPR News when she introduced the bill.
The law will also require parents to keep records about when children appear online and how much they earn. It would also require that a portion of the pay be kept in a trust fund for the child. The law applies when at least 30 percent of the content creator’s compensated video includes the likeness, name, or photograph of any minor.
Flexibility for later school start
School districts would have more flexibility under a new education law to begin their academic year on or after Sept. 1 in 2026 and 2027 because Labor Day is as late as it can be those years. The law encourages school boards to adopt a process to include student representation to advise the board. It also makes a short-call emergency substitute teacher pilot program permanent.
Motorcyclists can lane split and filter
Starting Tuesday, motorcyclists will have more flexibility to pass cars in slower-moving sections of traffic.
Lawmakers approved lane splitting and lane filtering. Lane splitting is when motorcyclists move between lanes of traffic. They’ll be allowed to pass vehicles moving in the same direction and in the same line as they’re traveling at 25 miles per hour or less.
If traffic is stopped, a motorcyclist can move through traffic at a speed of 15 miles per hour or less. That’s known as lane filtering. Neither filtering or splitting are allowed in roundabouts (or approaching them or exiting roundabouts), school or construction zones, or freeway on ramps.
Sensitive medical exams consent
Medical professionals will not be allowed to perform sensitive examinations – including breast, pelvic, urogenital or rectal exams – on unconscious or anesthetized patients unless the patients or guardians offer written consent ahead of time, the exam is medically necessary for treatment reasons or is needed to collect evidence. Those who violate the law could face disciplinary action from a health licensing board.
A separate health provision will require more notification for providers. Those that work with kids and families of infants six months and younger (or their caregivers) must provide materials that spell signs of possible physical abuse.
State fossil and constellation
Two new state emblems will join Minnesota’s list on Tuesday. They’re a state fossil and state constellation. Minnesota’s official state fossil will be the giant beaver, a prehistoric species the size of a black bear that roamed the state more than 10,000 years ago. Ursa Minor will be designated as the state’s official constellation.
Carve-outs to PFAs prohibition
The prohibition on the sales of consumer products that contain intentionally added PFAs – those forever chemicals that don’t easily break down naturally in the environment – will have some exceptions. Certain children’s recreational vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and e-bikes, are excluded from the PFAs prohibition law. There will also be temporary exemption from the ban on firefighting foam that contains PFAs if it is being used in fixed firefighting systems in airport hangars.
New budget
The next state budget is smaller than the one it replaces. Lawmakers authorized just shy of $67 billion in spending from the state treasury over the next two years. That’s lower than the nearly $71 billion budget that preceded it. Some of the cuts are by lowering anticipated program growth. Other reductions are achieved through letting previously enacted grants expire rather than renew them. The budget is deemed balanced for now but actions being taken in Washington to reduce pass-down money to states could require legislators to reconvene in a special session or tackle a new shortfall when they return in 2026.
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