Commerce officials review budget needs for upcoming biennium

Many of the proposed changes to the Department of Commerce’s budget for the 2026-27 biennium are expected to be cost-neutral.

Commissioner Grace Arnold walked the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee through Gov. Tim Walz’s proposal Wednesday. No action was taken.

Two items under the department’s purview are to be discussed at separate future meetings.

Walz’s decision to move the department’s fraud investigators to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is on Thursday’s agenda. The change is already underway as part of an executive order signed by Walz in January to stop fraud.

The state health reinsurance program, known as the Minnesota Premium Security Plan, is expected to be discussed by the committee next week, according to the committee chair, Rep. Tim O'Driscoll (R-Sartell). The plan lowers premiums for Minnesotans who purchase health insurance in the individual marketplace.

The budget proposals include authorizing Weights and Measures to test and inspect electric vehicle charging stations to ensure that drivers are receiving the charge for which they paid. The change would add one full-time equivalent position in fiscal year 2027 and an additional full-time equivalent position in fiscal year 2028, both of which are expected to be budget neutral.

“Is there a real problem we’re solving or is there a perceived problem that we’ve created that the department feels they need to recognize?” said Rep. Ron Kresha (R-Little Falls).

Arnold responded that there is evidence of problems with charging stations charging a different amount than what the driver paid for. She noted that they also investigate complaints from drivers who believe a gas station shorted them on gas.

“Being charged for something different than you receive is sort of the fundamental thing that Weights and Measures does and that is something that we all rely on,” she said.

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Walz is also proposing to add one full-time equivalent position with licensing and examination duties for “buy now, pay later” and early wage access services. The trend in recent years is Minnesotans using those two services instead of payday loans, Arnold said. These services aren’t regulated and adding a position to license and examine them would ensure that bad actors are kept in check, she said. The new position would be budget neutral.

Other budget proposals include:

• an operating increase of $1.2 million in fiscal year 2026 and $1.8 million in fiscal year 2027 to maintain current services;
• a $500,000 per fiscal year increase for the Petrofund Tank Release Cleanup fund, which provides reimbursements to address leaking petroleum storage tanks; and
• adding four full-time equivalent positions in fiscal year 2026 and one in fiscal year 2027 for the Office of Securities, which currently has four full-time positions with oversight responsibilities for an industry with $11 billion in assets. The goal is better protections through thorough registration reviews and conducting more exams on a more frequent basis.