SF4764
County commissioners to participate in the health care savings plan authorization
Legislative Session 94 (2025-2026)
Related bill: HF4630
AI Generated Summary
Purpose
Authorize county commissioners to participate in a health care savings plan and modify related provisions of Minnesota law to enable this option for retirement health care funding.
Main Provisions
- Eligible participants: County commissioners may elect to participate in a health care savings plan. For officers or employees other than county commissioners, contributions follow existing policies set in a personnel policy or collective bargaining agreement; for commissioners, the county must implement a comparable arrangement.
- Compensation offset: If a county commissioner elects to participate, the county must reduce the commissioner’s compensation during the term of the office to offset the county’s contributions to the plan.
- Notice of contribution: A county commissioner who participates must inform the county of the amount or percentage of pay to be contributed within 30 days after the start of the term.
- Plan structure: The executive director may offer different types of trusts permitted under the Internal Revenue Code to meet the needs of different employer units.
- Trust and accounts: Contributions are held in a trust for reimbursement of eligible health-related expenses for participants and their dependents following termination from public employment or under other conditions defined in the plan document. The executive director must maintain a separate account for contributions (and earnings) for each participant.
- Investment options: The executive director shall provide a limited range of investment options, and each participant may direct the investment of the accumulations in the participant’s account among the available options.
- Negotiation and funding obligations: The bill does not require public employers to meet and negotiate in good faith with exclusive bargaining representatives about employer contributions to retiree health care savings plans, and it is not the legislature’s intent to create new funding obligations for retiree health care costs or for administering retiree health care plans or accounts.
Changes to Existing Law
- Section amended: Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 352.98 subdivision 3.
- Key change: Adds a framework for county commissioners to participate in a health care savings plan, including compensation offset, contribution notice timing, trust structure, separate participant accounts, and investment options.
Significant Behavioral and Fiscal Notes
- The bill explicitly states it is not intended to create new state or local funding obligations for retiree health care costs or their administration.
- It clarifies that participation by county commissioners involves a compensation reduction by the county and does not obligate the state to fund new retiree health care costs.
How It Works in Practice (Overview)
- A county determines whether a commissioner will participate.
- If yes, the county reduces the commissioner’s pay during the term by the amount needed to offset the county’s contributions.
- The commissioner reports the contribution amount or percentage within 30 days of taking office.
- Contributions go into a trust managed by the executive director, with separate accounts for each participant and their earnings.
- Participants can choose from a limited set of investment options for their account.
- Benefits are used to reimburse eligible health-related expenses for the participant and their dependents, as defined in the plan document.
Potential Impacts
- Allows county-level retirement health care saving options for commissioners.
- Creates a structured, trustee-managed savings mechanism tied to post-service health care expense reimbursement.
- Maintains flexibility for different employer units to offer various trust types under the plan.
Relevant Terms health care savings plan contributions commissioner county compensation term of office notice executive director trust reimbursement eligible health-related expenses participants dependents termination from public employment plan document earnings investment options Internal Revenue Code public employer collective bargaining agreement meet and negotiate in good faith retiree health care funding obligations
Bill text versions
- Introduction PDF PDF file
Actions
| Date | Chamber | Where | Type | Name | Committee Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 25, 2026 | Senate | Action | Introduction and first reading | ||
| March 25, 2026 | Senate | Action | Referred to | State and Local Government |
Citations
[
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Provisions that county commissioners' compensation be reduced for the duration of their term to offset contributions.",
"Allowance for the executive director to offer different types of trusts permitted under the Internal Revenue Code."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Amends Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 352.98, subdivision 3 to authorize county commissioners to participate in a health care savings plan and to set contribution rules, including offsetting county compensation for contributions.",
"modified": [
"Contributions to the plan and the framework for trust investment and participant accounts are clarified within subdivision 3."
]
},
"citation": "352.98",
"subdivision": "subdivision 3"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "References Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 356.24, subdivision 1, clause 7 in connection with health care savings plan provisions related to this act.",
"modified": []
},
"citation": "356.24",
"subdivision": "subdivision 1 clause 7"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Mentions that trusts or plan types may be governed by or permitted under the Internal Revenue Code (federal law).",
"modified": []
},
"citation": "Internal Revenue Code",
"subdivision": ""
}
]Progress through the legislative process
In Committee