House passes technical updates to nonprofit laws

People in charge of Minnesota’s nonprofits would no longer have to put pen to paper when they take official actions, under a bill passed 127-0 by the House Thursday.

Rep. Dennis Smith

Sponsored by Rep. Dennis Smith (R-Maple Grove), HF13 would make changes to put state law governing nonprofit businesses more in line with like statutes governing for-profit businesses.

The bill now goes to the Senate where Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park) is the sponsor.

Among the bill’s many small technical changes, several steps meant to modernize and streamline state nonprofit law stand out.

It would allow board members of nonprofits to take votes electronically instead of only by “written action.” In committee, representatives were assured this would not override existing requirements for public meetings by health care nonprofits, for example.

The bill would also make it more efficient for nonprofits with subsidiaries, such as real estate holdings, to merge those subsidiaries into the larger nonprofit and it would ease the process by which nonprofits in other states convert to Minnesota nonprofits — if, for example, they want to move their headquarters here.