This legislative bill, titled the Supporting Women Act, aims to establish a grant program in Minnesota that provides financial assistance to women's pregnancy centers and maternity homes. These facilities offer services and support to pregnant women and new mothers who are in crisis, homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless.

Key points of the bill include:

1. Establishment of a Grant Program: The bill mandates the creation of a program managed by the Commissioner of Health to give grants to eligible women's pregnancy centers and maternity homes. These facilities should assist women in carrying pregnancies to term and aid in child care after birth.

2. Eligibility Requirements: To qualify for the grants, the centers and homes must be nonprofit organizations providing free or reduced-cost services. They should not offer or refer for abortions except in life-threatening conditions, and they should not have affiliations with organizations that promote or provide abortions.

3. Use of Grant Funds: Funds received should be used to support services like medical care, nutritional advice, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, housing assistance, education, and employment assistance among others, as well as maintaining operational requirements such as housing and supervision.

4. Privacy and Compliance: Recipients of grants must protect the privacy of the women they serve and adhere to existing healthcare information privacy laws. They must also submit necessary information to the commissioner for monitoring and review purposes.

5. Financial Aspects: The bill proposes a reduction of $4,000,000 in the general fund appropriations for sexual and reproductive health services for the fiscal years 2026 and 2027, reallocating those funds to the new grant program for women's pregnancy centers and maternity homes.

The bill has been introduced and referred to the Committee on Health Finance and Policy for further discussion and potential approval.