HF3646
Provisions governing business services modernized and corrected.
Legislative Session 94 (2025-2026)
Related bill: SF4177
AI Generated Summary
Purpose
This bill aims to modernize and correct how Minnesota handles business filings and related financial obligations. It updates rules about filing fees, payment failures, and liens, and it reorganizes how certain financing and lien information is recorded and accessed.
Main provisions
Filing fees and payment problems (Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 5.23, subdivision 1, amended)
- If a required filing is submitted with a payment that is dishonored or rejected, the secretary of state can take actions to protect the state’s interests.
- The secretary of state may:
- Refuse to file further documents from the same person or business, or related to the same assumed name or trademark.
- If the issue is with a business entity, terminate that entity and mark it as inactive.
- Pursue collection of the dishonored payment and related costs.
- If the payment is later honored, the secretary can resume accepting filings as of the date the payment is honored.
- The secretary may impose restrictions on how future payments can be made.
- These changes do not apply to financing statements filed under certain other chapters (336 or 336A).
Lien rules and remedies (Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 268.058, subdivision 1, amended)
- A due amount creates a lien on all property within Minnesota (real and personal) from the date of assessment.
- The lien is not enforceable against certain buyers or financiers until a notice of lien is filed with the county recorder (or, for nonresidents’ personal property, with the Secretary of State).
- Notices of liens, renewals, and releases can be filed by mail, in person, or electronically, and must be transmitted to the appropriate office.
- The filing office must index and endorse notices and enter lien information into a central database maintained by the secretary of state.
- The lien has special priority over certain preexisting security interests if specific conditions apply (for example, if the property did not exist at the time the lien was filed or arises after certain time points).
- The lien is enforceable for ten years from the filing date, with the option to renew for another ten years.
- The lien can be enforced by levy or judgment foreclosure and may be imposed on homestead property only upon sale or transfer of that property.
- The commissioner may sell and assign the right of redemption in the lien to a third party, with certain limits in bankruptcy proceedings.
- Proceeds from redemption sales go to a contingent account.
Master lists for financing statements and statutory liens (Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 336A.08, subdivision 1, amended)
- The secretary of state must compile information about effective financing statements and statutory liens into a master list in a standardized format.
- Organization of the master list:
- By farm product.
- Within each product, by debtor’s last name (or, for non-individuals, the first word of the debtor’s name).
- By a unique identifier tied to the debtor (e.g., SSN or tax ID central notification system number).
- By county and by crop year.
- Indicate any terminations of an effective financing statement.
- The secretary may organize the information in additional ways beyond the basic structure.
Significant changes to existing law
- Strengthened enforcement for unpaid filing fees, including potential termination or inactive status of entities and restrictions on future filings.
- Clear, centralized handling of liens and lien notices, including modern electronic filing and automatic data entry into a central database.
- Updated lien priority rules to specify when a lien takes precedence over existing security interests.
- Reorganization and standardization of how financing statements and statutory liens are listed and searchable in a master list.
How this bill would function in practice (plain terms)
- If someone doesn’t pay a filing fee, the state can stop further filings from that person or business, may shut down the entity’s active status, and can pursue the money owed.
- Lien rules would give the state a formal, time-bound way to collect debts tied to various assessments, with a central system to track notices, renewals, and releases.
- The state would keep better, organized records of all financing statements and liens, making it easier to find and compare information by product, debtor, and location.
Relevant dates or implementation details are not specified in the excerpt.
Important terminology (for quick reference)
- filing fee, payment order, dishonored, refuse filing, inactive, termination, collection
- secretary of state, lien, notice of lien, county recorder, center database / central database
- financing statement, effective financing statement, lien notice, chapter 336, chapter 336A
- lien priority, security interest, perfected interest, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
- homestead property, levy, judgment foreclosure, redemption, assignment of redemption
- master list, farm product, debtor, unique identifier, Social Security number, tax identification number, county, crop year
- terminations of financing statements, renewals, releases
Relevant Terms filing fee; payment order; dishonored; refuse filing; inactive; termination; collection; secretary of state; lien; notice of lien; county recorder; central database; financing statement; effective financing statement; lien notice; chapter 336; chapter 336A; lien priority; security interest; UCC; homestead property; levy; judgment foreclosure; redemption; assignment of redemption; master list; farm product; debtor; unique identifier; SSN; tax ID; county; crop year; termination; renewal; release
Bill text versions
- Introduction PDF PDF file
Actions
| Date | Chamber | Where | Type | Name | Committee Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 23, 2026 | House | Action | Introduction and first reading, referred to | Commerce Finance and Policy |
Citations
[
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Section 1 amends Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 5.23 subdivision 1 to address failure to pay filing fees, outlining actions the Secretary of State may take (refusal to file, termination of the entity, pursuit of collection) and conditions for resuming filings when payment is honored.",
"modified": [
"Expands the Secretary of State's remedies for unpaid filing fees, including potential termination of the entity and collection of delinquent amounts; filing resumes upon payment."
]
},
"citation": "5.23",
"subdivision": "1"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [
"Subdivision 3 of Minnesota Statutes section 5.23 is repealed."
],
"summary": "Section 3 repeals Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 5.23 subdivision 3.",
"modified": []
},
"citation": "5.23",
"subdivision": "3"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Adds lien mechanics for amounts due under this chapter or section 116L.20, including filing and priority rules and enforcement provisions."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Section 2 amends Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 268.058, subdivision 1, to establish lien provisions for amounts due under this chapter or section 116L.20, detailing when a lien arises, who is protected, and how liens are filed and enforced.",
"modified": [
"Clarifies lien priority over certain security interests and outlines the process for filing, renewal, and enforcement of liens."
]
},
"citation": "268.058",
"subdivision": "1"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "References Minnesota Statutes 116L.20 within the lien framework of 268.058, indicating that liens may apply to amounts due under this chapter or 116L.20.",
"modified": []
},
"citation": "116L.20",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Sec.2 notes that the filing and indexing fee is as provided in Minnesota Statutes sections 272.483 and 272.484.",
"modified": [
"Incorporates the filing/recording fee framework from 272.483 into the lien filing process."
]
},
"citation": "272.483",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Sec.2 notes that the filing and indexing fee is as provided in Minnesota Statutes sections 272.483 and 272.484.",
"modified": [
"Incorporates the filing/recording fee framework from 272.484 into the lien filing process."
]
},
"citation": "272.484",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Section 3 amends Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 336A.08, subdivision 1, to require compilation of information on effective financing statements and statutory liens into a master list organized by product, debtor, county, crop year, and other designations.",
"modified": [
"Requires the secretary of state to compile information into a master list, organizing data by farm product, debtor name, county, crop year, and status terms."
]
},
"citation": "336A.08",
"subdivision": "1"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Section 3 also amends 336A.08 to include provisions for terminating financing statements.",
"modified": [
"Adds provision to designate terminations of effective financing statements."
]
},
"citation": "336A.08",
"subdivision": "4"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Section 3 amends Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 336A.09, subdivision 1; text not shown in excerpt for specifics.",
"modified": [
"Amendment to 336A.09 subdivision 1; specific changes not provided in excerpt."
]
},
"citation": "336A.09",
"subdivision": "1"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Section 3 includes changes to Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 336A.13 (amendment).",
"modified": [
"Amendment to 336A.13; details not included in excerpt."
]
},
"citation": "336A.13",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Text refers to homestead property in chapter 510 in the context of lien enforcement.",
"modified": [
"Mentions homestead property as defined in chapter 510, affecting lien enforcement."
]
},
"citation": "510",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Cross-reference to sections 550.37, 550.38, and 550.39 relating to exemptions in lien context.",
"modified": [
"Incorporates exemptions applicable to lien enforcement from 550.37."
]
},
"citation": "550.37",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Cross-reference to sections 550.37–550.39 relating to exemptions.",
"modified": [
"Incorporates exemptions applicable to lien enforcement from 550.38."
]
},
"citation": "550.38",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Cross-reference to sections 550.37–550.39 relating to exemptions.",
"modified": [
"Incorporates exemptions applicable to lien enforcement from 550.39."
]
},
"citation": "550.39",
"subdivision": ""
}
]Progress through the legislative process
In Committee