Here are 9 Minnesota laws that go into effect in the new year

Minnesota employers will soon be required to publish salary ranges along with every job posting, and the raft of hidden fees on concert tickets will be no more as new laws go into effect Jan. 1.

State lawmakers spent much of the 2024 session crafting bills that focused on policy following a year in which a surplus in excess of $17 billion provided funding for several programs including free school meals and expanded Minnesota’s child tax credit.

These are nine of the most notable laws that will go into effect in 2025:

Gov. Tim Walz signed what lawmakers called a “fee-transparency” bill into law at First Avenue in May, which requires ticket sellers to advertise the total cost of attendance for concerts and other events. The legislation came about after Rep. Kelly Moller, DFL-Shoreview, found herself paying several hidden fees when she purchased Taylor Swift tickets to attend the pop superstar’s Eras Tour stop in Minneapolis.

Surcharges on restaurant bills and bar tabs have become increasingly common in recent years, prompting broader conversations about tipping culture as business owners look for ways to maintain the prices of their goods and pay for things like health insurance for their employees.

A new law bars such charges, but still allows eateries to charge an automatic gratuity at the end of the bill.

Guns with binary triggers, or firearms that allow a person to shoot once with the pull of a trigger and another once it’s released, will be prohibited starting Jan. 1.

The law also makes it illegal to transfer the sale of any firearm to an ineligible person with the exception of hunting rifles or shotguns to eligible minors. Previously, pistols or military-style assault weapons fell under this provision of the state’s firearm laws.

Colleges, universities and student government organizations may now request a county to provide an additional on-campus polling place for at least one day during elections. The law only applies to institutions of higher education that enroll at least 100 students.

The polling place must be within a half-mile of campus. The Secretary of State’s Office will reimburse counties for the cost of running them.

Employers must include the starting salary range or fixed pay rate in job postings at the beginning of the year, but only if they have 30 or more employees. The salary range may also not be “open-ended,” according to a House spokesperson.

Employers will also have to provide a general description of the benefits they offer.

Health plans must price abortion and abortion-related services as they do any other medical procedure, nor may they impose limits on that coverage. The law provides exemptions for organizations with religious objections.

This law was part of a broader package of health care legislation that lawmakers passed toward the end of the 2024 session, separate from the bill Walz signed strengthening abortion access in Minnesota in January.

Sen. Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, sponsored this bill after she had to pay $500 for a wig because insurance didn’t cover it after she was diagnosed with cancer and began chemotherapy.

“I want to make sure that others who don’t have the resources can get a wig,” Dziedzic said in May. “Research shows that losing hair related to cancer has a negative impact on quality of life. Loss of self-esteem. Do you wear a cap, do you wear a scarf, what do you do?” Dziedzic died on Dec. 27, days before her bill went into effect.

Minnesota legislators passed several laws that strengthen tenant rights during the 2024 session.

Landlords are now prohibited from retaliating against residents who want to establish a tenants’ rights association. Property owners must also keep common areas “reasonably maintained” and the law requires landlords to notify tenants about energy assistance programs for low-income families and individuals by Sept. 30 of each year.

Landlords must now offer alternative housing, or the right to end a lease, if construction delays on new buildings prevent tenants from moving into their units.

The legislation came on the heels of a 2023 incident in Dinkytown where a builder asked University of Minnesota students to pre-lease units in a newly planned building but did not allow them to break their leases when it wasn’t completed on time. Instead, the building owner put up students in a hotel and offered them a per diem. But many residents said the money didn’t go very far and complained about incomplete units upon moving in.