Legislative Advocacy

Legislative Update for April 2026

Where we are in the 2026 legislative session

3^rd deadline was on Friday, April 17^th. This was the deadline for bills with a cost to pass the House and Senate. There are some bills that didn’t quite make the deadline. Those bills make a step at Rules committee for each body to be allowed to move forward.
Floor sessions and conference committees are the next phase of session. This is when bills get voted on by the entire Senate and House, sent to conference committee for a negotiated deal between House and Senate bill versions, and come back to each body for final passage. A lot needs to happen in the last days of session.
Session ends on Monday, May 18^th, but nothing can be voted on after 11:59:59 on Sunday, May 17^th.

Bills we’re watching

Human Services Policy Omnibus (SF 476): This is a larger bill without funding attached.
- Guardianship and conservatorship: OOLTC has worked with the Consumer Advocates Coalition to reach a negotiated compromise with providers to prevent people from waiting in the hospital (or elsewhere) to gain admission to a nursing home or assisted living facility prior to having a guardian or conservator. The compromise ensures that people can get the care they need and pursue less restrictive options for supported decision-making while acknowledging that there are situations in which guardianship or conservatorship is still needed. We hope to see this agreed to language become law.
- Restraints: Assisted living facilities don’t have any guidance on how to (or not to) use chemical, physical, or emergency manual restraints when working with residents. After several years of discussion, we think we have reached a negotiated compromise that provides guidance to providers and residents alike.
Senate Human Services Budget Omnibus (SF 4476/HF 4338): This bill includes a number of provisions supported by the Consumer Advocates Coalition:
- Guardrails for how for-profit entities that purchase non-profit nursing homes and assisted living facilities can use the taxpayer dollars and lifetime savings of residents to support care,
- a minimum staffing standard for nursing homes and assisted living facilities,
- a requirement for automatic external defibrillators to be available to residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities with accompanying training,
- and a requirement for assisted living facilities to maintain a call light response log for 5 years.
- There is no companion language for these items in the House bill.

Getting in touch with your elected officials

Legislators don’t necessarily know what it’s like to live in or to have a family member live in a long-term care setting. They need to hear your story to understand what the issues are and what to do about them. Telling your story to your legislators is essential for passing bills that support residents. Bills frequently come from constituents contacting their legislators.
Use your address to find your elected officials.
Phone calls, letters, emails, and visits are great ways to tell your story and build your relationship with your elected officials. If you’d like support with contacting your elected officials, contact Parichay Rudina at Parichay.rudina@state.mn.us or 651-485-3858.
Note: the next 2 weeks is a very busy time for legislators, so it may take them a bit longer than usual to respond.

OOLTC also sends out a newsletter with information about what we’re seeing in assisted living facilities and nursing homes when we’re advocating with and for residents along with some legislative updates. If you’d like to subscribe, you can sign up here: Subscribe for OOLTC email updates

March Update
Where we are in the 2026 legislative session
- 1^st and 2^nd deadlines were on Friday, March 27^th. All bills that move forward (except those that need funding) needed to be heard and voted for by an appropriate committee in the House and Senate by last week.
- The week of March 30^th is the Easter and Passover Legislative Break. No hearings will be scheduled, but advocacy and negotiation on bills continues.
Bills we’re watching
- HF 4212/SF 4418: Providing guardrails on restraints in assisted living facilities.
  - Restraints restrict an individual’s movement. Assisted living facilities are the only care setting (including schools and prisons) that currently do not have statutory guidance on what is and is not acceptable use of restraints. This bill provides that guidance.
  - The Consumer Advocates Coalition, providers, the Minnesota Department of Health, Department of Human Services, and other advocates have negotiated for this language for several years.
  - Both of these bills were added to the House and Senate Human Services Policy Omnibus bills last week. We’re a step closer to having this important guidance in law.
- HF 2216/SF 2522 and HF 3935/SF 4121: Providing assistance for residents in assisted living who have a medical emergency.
  - The Consumer Advocates Coalition’s HF 2216/SF 2522 includes language to require automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) and CPR training in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Most residents and families tell advocates that they thought this kind of care was already available when they moved into an assisted living facility.
  - Elder Voice Family Advocates has sponsored HF 3935/SF 4121 to ensure facilities take action when a resident has a medical emergency beyond calling 911. This bill came from the horrible story of a resident’s death when he fell, staff called 911 but didn’t help him move, and the resident suffocated.
  - Both bills are currently in the Senate Human Services Policy Omnibus.
February Update
Where we are in the 2026 legislative session
- Session began on Tuesday, February 17^th, 2026. Committee hearings are well underway and many bills have already been heard in the House and Senate.
- 1^st and 2^nd deadlines are on Friday, March 27^th. All bills that move forward (except those that need funding) will need to be heard and voted for by an appropriate committee in the House and Senate by that date. Committee hearings happen 2 or 3 times per week, so even though session just started, there isn’t a lot of time for bills to get heard.
Bills we’re watching
- OOLTC continues to support resident rights and protections with the Consumer Advocates Coalition: AARP MN, Alzheimer’s Association of MN/ND, Minnesota Elder Justice Center, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, OOLTC, and the Office of Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.
- Our Coalition has two bills we’re pushing this year:
  - HF2771/SF 2972: This bill provides some guardrails around how for-profit entities that purchase non-profit nursing homes and assisted living facilities spend money they receive from taxpayers and residents’ lifetime savings. The bill aims to ensure that money is spent on care and, importantly, adequate staffing.
  - Thank you to Representative Reyer and Senator Dibble for authoring this bill!
  - HF2771 was supposed to get heard in the House Health Finance & Policy Committee on Monday, March 2^nd, but the committee ran out of time.
  - HF3622/SF 3844: This bill requires nursing homes and assisted living facilities to have AEDs in their buildings, train staff to use AEDs and provide CPR. It prevents those facilities from requiring guardianship or conservatorship as a prerequisite for admission or continued stay. It also requires assisted living facilities to provide their most recent survey from the Minnesota Department of Health and any complaint investigation results, correction orders, and fines issued in the last 2 years to any prospective residents, and directs assisted living facilities to maintain a log of how long it took to answer call lights or pendants for 5 years.
  - Thank you to Representative Moller and Senator Mann for authoring this bill!
  - Hearings for both Senate bills occurred on March 4th as well. SF 2972 will be heard in the Senate Judiciary committee next, and SF 3844 has been laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill. Senate Human Services Committee Video

Stay Connected - Take Action!

We encourage readers to check this page regularly for updates and stay connected this legislative session. You can also find your house representatives and state legislators, how to contact them, bills they’ve introduced, and committees they serve on.