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HF 4675

Human Services Systems Steering Committee established, reports required, and money appropriated.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Dawn Gillman and 2 co-sponsors

HF 4675 creates a centralized Human Services Systems Steering Committee to govern, coordinate funding, and oversee major changes to all state and county human services IT systems,

Author added Gillman
#appropriations #humanservicesandhumanservicesdepartment
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Bill Summary · HF 4675

Summary of HF 4675 (2025-2026) – Minnesota

Purpose and Intent

HF 4675 establishes a centralized governance body, the Human Services Systems Steering Committee, to oversee the development, administration, and business operations of Minnesota’s human services information technology (IT) systems. The bill aims to align system goals, prioritize funding, and ensure coordinated changes across state and county IT services related to human services.

Key Provisions

Section 1: Establishment and Governance of the Steering Committee

  • Establishment: Creates the Human Services Systems Steering Committee to advise the commissioners of Human Services, Information Technology Services, and Children, Youth, and Families on current and future human services IT systems.
  • Definition: “Human services systems” include any IT system used by counties or the state agency commissioners.
  • Membership:
    • 2 members appointed by the Commissioner of Human Services.
    • 2 members appointed by the Commissioner of Children, Youth, and Families.
    • 6 members appointed jointly by three county organizations: Association of Minnesota Counties, Minnesota Inter-County Association, and Minnesota Association of County Social Service Administrators.
    • 2 nonvoting members appointed by the Commissioner of Information Technology Services.
  • Co-Chairs: One member from the county-association group and one nonvoting IT representative serve as co-chairs.
  • Costs: Steering committee costs paid from the respective agency budgets (Health Services, IT Services, and Children, Youth, and Families).

Substantive Duties (Subdivision 3)

  • Provide recommendations on:
    • Administration and business operations of current human services IT systems.
    • Development of any new human services systems.
  • For each system, set goals and priorities, allocate resources, guide major decisions, and track total funding and expenditures from all sources.

Meetings (Subdivision 4)

  • Must meet at least quarterly.
  • Each meeting must allow for oral and written public testimony and comments on recommendations.
  • All votes must be recorded with individual member votes.

Implementation of Changes; New Systems (Subdivision 5)

  • Before implementing major changes to existing systems or launching a new system, agencies must obtain steering committee recommendations and consult with counties.
  • Changes recommended and passed by at least seven steering committee members must be implemented by the agencies (Human Services and Children, Youth, and Families).

Reporting (Subdivision 6)

  • Starting January 30, 2027, and annually thereafter, the steering committee must report to:
    • Chairs and ranking minority members of legislative committees with jurisdiction over human services IT.
  • Reports must include:
    • For each human services system: funding and expenditures by source for the previous calendar year.
    • Recommendations made by the steering committee.
    • A list of projects needed to improve human services systems.
  • Legislative committees must hold a public hearing on the report during the regular session in the year the report is submitted.

Section 2: Appropriation for County IT System Updates (Information Technology Updates)

  • Subsection 1 – System-Focused IT Changes (FY 2027):
    • A specified general fund appropriation to the Commissioner of Information Technology Systems (amount not stated in the text) for county IT system updates, in collaboration with counties, to fund:
    • Expand Data Depot to all interested counties and Tribal Nations.
    • Expand BlueZone Scripting Collaborative to all interested counties and Tribes.
    • Expand piloted AI tools for human services to all interested counties and Tribes.
    • Develop new user interfaces to replace character-based greenscreens for MAXIS and PRISM via an integration layer.
    • Complete renewal self-service portal in METS.
    • Copy all state human services system policies/procedures into the data warehouse and keep updated.
    • Enable METS to note when a recipient has a second pregnancy.
    • Work with Minnesota Management and Budget to determine the dollar amounts needed for the integration layer tool and full implementation costs for MAXIS and PRISM.
    • A portion of this amount is specifically allocated to fully fund a work verification vendor system for child support, health care, and public assistance programs.
    • This is a one-time appropriation.
  • Subsection 2 – Policy-Focused IT Changes (FY 2027):
    • A separate general fund appropriation for policy-focused IT updates to align with legislative changes.
    • Also a one-time appropriation.
    • Funded projects include:
    • Automate eligibility confirmation in MAXIS for health care program enrollees.
    • Eliminate duplicate data entry by county workers (integrate MNBenefits with MAXIS; enable electronic updates from recipients).
    • Update MAXIS to require shelter and utility panel updates when address changes for SNAP.
    • Move to a simplified SNAP reporting method with changes reported on a six-month timeline.
    • Correct coding for time-limited SNAP recipients and integrate with other MAXIS panels.
    • Update MAXIS eligibility results to reflect current noncitizen eligibility policies for health care and SNAP.
    • Eliminate the need for separate entry/approval for general assistance and SNAP in MAXIS; enable translation between the two.
    • Modernize client notices generated by MAXIS and METS for clarity, accuracy, and compliance; ensure notices auto-populate correct information.
    • Enable automatic case noting in MAXIS.
    • This is also a one-time appropriation.

Who Would Be Affected

  • State agencies: Department of Human Services, Department of Information Technology Services, and Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
  • Counties and Tribal Nations: Collaboration on IT system improvements and implementation of the proposed changes.
  • County social service administrators and eligibility workers: Changes to MAXIS, METS, and related processes (eligibility, notices, data entry efficiency).
  • General public/recipients: Potentially improved access to services, clearer notices, and more streamlined reporting requirements.

Timelines and Process

  • Steering Committee established and operational on or after enactment.
  • Quarterly meetings with public comment opportunities and recorded votes.
  • First mandatory steering committee report due January 30, 2027; annual reports thereafter, with a required public hearing by legislative committees during the session year.
  • The IT-focused appropriations and project work are one-time appropriations in Fiscal Year 2027, with projects conducted in collaboration with counties and tribes.

Notes

  • Specific dollar amounts for the appropriations are redacted in the provided text (represented as "......."). The actual funding levels would be specified in the enacted version.
  • The bill requires substantial interagency and intergovernmental coordination and places emphasis on transparency, public participation, and accountability for IT system governance and modernization.

If you’d like, I can extract a concise one-page briefing or a comparison with current law to highlight the changes HF 4675 would implement.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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