Kandiyohi County Trunk Highway 23 segment designation as Joshua Schmidt Memorial Highway

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Andrew Lang

Allows local officials and employees to donate up to $100 per year to one another via online crowdfunding to cover diagnosed medical expenses, with penalties for violations.

Referred to Transportation

#highways #roads #andbridges #transportationandtransportationdepartment

Purpose and scope

SF 580 seeks to allow a narrow, specific exception to existing gift restrictions for monetary donations among local officials and local employees. The bill authorizes donations from one local official or local employee to another local official or local employee to offset medical or health care expenses arising from a diagnosed condition, provided the donations are made and received through an online crowdfunding or fundraising platform. The measure places a per-recipient annual cap and assigns penalties for violations.

Primary aim: Create a legal pathway for local government officials and employees to assist one another with medical expenses through crowdfunding, while maintaining gift-restriction controls.

Who it covers: “Local official” (officeholder of a political subdivision) and “local employee” (person employed by a political subdivision; independent contractors are excluded).

Key provisions

New allowance: Adds a new paragraph (t) to Code 68B.22(4) to authorize the described donations.

Source and method: Donations must be made and received via an online crowdfunding or fundraising platform.

Cap on gifts: An authorized donation from a donor to a recipient may not exceed $100 per calendar year.

Context and purpose of gifts: These donations are specifically to offset medical or health care expenses resulting from a diagnosed condition.

Scope of donors: The donations must come from other local officials or local employees; donations from non-local-government individuals are not covered by this provision.

Definitions (for this bill): “Local employee” means a person employed by a political subdivision (not an independent contractor). “Local official” means an officeholder of a political subdivision.

Penalties: A person who knowingly and intentionally violates the amended Code section 68B.22 commits a serious misdemeanor and may face reprimand, suspension, or dismissal from their position.

Affected parties and impact

Affected individuals: Local officials and local employees within a political subdivision.

Donor limitations: Donors must themselves be local officials or local employees; gifts are limited to $100 per calendar year per recipient.

Public ethics framework: The measure operates within the Chapter 68B ethics and lobbying framework, preserving general prohibitions on gifts from restricted donors while creating a narrowly defined exception for this specific purpose.

Procedural and timeline notes

Introduced: March 10, 2025.

Status: Referred to Local Government (as of June 16, 2025); earlier actions include a committee report approving the bill on introduction day.

Legislative actions to watch: If advanced, the bill would proceed through committee hearings (Local Government) and potential floor action, with further clarifications or amendments possible.

Bottom line

SF 580 creates a narrow exception that allows local officials and local employees to donate to each other, via online crowdfunding, up to $100 per recipient per year, to help cover diagnosed medical expenses. Violations of the amended ethics provisions would carry serious misdemeanor penalties. The measure adds explicit definitions and maintains the broader gift-restriction framework, while offering a targeted mechanism to support colleagues facing medical costs.

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