Meat raffle prizes and prediction market bans: What else the Legislature got done this year
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The ceiling on meat raffle prizes will increase from $70 to $200 and max ticket prices will go from $2 to $5. Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The slate of proposals passed in the final days of this year's legislative session goes beyond the headline-grabbing deals on hot topics like car tabs and HCMC.
Why it matters: The full list of bills that cleared the narrowly divided Capitol with bipartisan backing shows how the work done under the dome impacts Minnesotans' lives in ways big and small.
Here's a sampling of the potential new laws, pending signatures from Gov. Tim Walz:
📲 Social media platforms will need to get parental consent for users under 16 and remove "addictive" features such as infinite scroll and autoplay video and targeted advertising from the feeds of those accounts.
🍖 Meat raffles will be able to offer more valuable prizes — and charge slightly more for tickets.
🍸Assisted living facilities can host happy hours for their senior residents right away — instead of waiting until the end of the summer.
📉 Prediction markets will be effectively banned, teeing up potential lawsuits.
☢️ The Department of Commerce will commission a $500,000 study on whether Minnesota should lift its moratorium on new nuclear power.
🎓 Veterans who were unable to graduate from high school because they were serving in the Korean or Vietnam wars will be able to request a diploma.
🍳 Food retailers are getting approval to donate eggs to food shelves for up to 30 days beyond the "best buy" date, a change supporters say will reduce waste and increase access to fresh food.
🦁 Como Zoo will get $9 million in bonding money to renovate its Big Cat Habitat.
🛑 Yes, but: A number of proposals with bipartisan backing failed to make the final deal, including those:
- 🍄 Legalizing psychedelic mushrooms for therapeutic use (though lawmakers agreed to study the issue).
- 🚲 Setting new safety rules for e-bikes, including a requirement that riders 18 and under wear helmets.
- 🤫 Banning local governments from using non-disclosure agreements for data center projects.
- 🤖 Green-lighting Waymo and other autonomous vehicles to operate without a driver.
- 🐶 Prohibiting the sale of puppies and cats at stores.
🏒Plus: While St. Paul received $50 million of the $200 million it requested for renovations to Grand Casino Arena and the neighboring Roy Wilkins Auditorium, a separate sales tax extension proposed to raise additional funds for the projects fell short.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that an e-bike safety package that includes a helmet requirement for riders under 18 passed the Senate (but not the House).