House lawmakers push to fund weather-resiliency program for Minnesota homes

A pilot program created in 2023 to help Minnesotans fortify their homes against extreme weather would be funded under a proposal before lawmakers.

The Strengthen Minnesota Homes program provides grants for homeowners to strengthen their roofs to meet the FORTIFIED standard, set by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety to be more resilient against hail and wind.

It was initially funded with $1 million to get the program off the ground. Sponsored by Rep. Steve Elkins (DFL-Bloomington), HF4223 seeks $35 million in Fiscal Year 2026 to begin distributing the grants.

The bill would require projects to be completed within six months of grant approval — current requirement is three months — and would put a priority on homeowners whose household income is at or below 115% of the area median income for grant eligibility.

Elkins said discussions on the bill’s provisions are ongoing. The House Ways and Means Committee laid the bill over Monday.

[MORE: Read written testimony]

Homeowners’ insurance rates have been “climbing rapidly” in recent years, hitting affordable apartment buildings and older condo buildings more severely, Elkins said. He said the bill is an effort to raise awareness of the program and to provide funding to help Minnesotans because the insurance industry offers discounts for homes with strengthened roofs.

The program has been implemented in southern states where homes that had been strengthened fared better in major storms, he said. 

Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL-Minnetonka) said it was “a great and really important program.” Larger storms are causing people to see larger increases in their homeowners insurance rates.

“If we can be doing things in a way to better protect our homes and then also reduce our insurance premiums, I think that that’s a win-win,” she said.

Rep. Josh Heintzeman (R-Nisswa) agrees there’s a challenge with rising costs for homeowners insurance, but he believes there would be broad agreement on a tax incentive for using materials that harden homes against storms, such as a sales tax break, instead of a grant program.

Elkins responded that the labor to affix the materials to the home also needs to be considered. He added that many people who could benefit from the program may not have a lot of taxable income, such as seniors on a restricted income who own their homes but don’t have a lot of available money to pay for it upfront.