1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to state government; proposing an amendment to the Minnesota
1.3 Constitution, article IV, section 17, by amending the single subject and title clauses;
1.4 prohibiting bills from being amended in a way that changes the original purpose
1.5 of the bill.
1.6BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.7 Section 1. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSED.
1.8 An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution is proposed to the people. If the amendment
1.9is adopted, article IV, section 17, will read:
1.10 Sec. 17. No law shall A law must not embrace more than one subject, which shall must
1.11be expressed in its title. Each provision in a law must be directly and logically related to
1.12the single subject stated in the title. When determining whether a law embraces more than
1.13one subject, the court must narrowly construe what constitutes a direct and logical relation
1.14to the single subject.
1.15 On a bill's passage through either house of the legislature, a bill must not be amended
1.16in a manner that changes the original purpose of the bill. When determining whether an
1.17enacted bill serves the original purpose of the bill, the original purpose of the bill must be
1.18narrowly construed.
1.19 A Minnesota resident may bring an action alleging a violation of this section in district
1.20court without needing to demonstrate direct injury. If a provision in a law is deemed
1.21unconstitutional pursuant to this section, the act is void and unenforceable and the offending
1.22provision is not severable.
1Section 1.
25-01261 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR RSI/AC
SENATE
STATE OF MINNESOTA
S.F. No. 1097NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
(SENATE AUTHORS: BAHR, Eichorn and Dornink)
OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
Introduction and first reading02/06/2025
Referred to State and Local Government 2.1 Sec. 2. SUBMISSION TO VOTERS.
2.2 (a) The proposed amendment must be submitted to the people at the 2026 general election.
2.3If ratified, the amendment is effective the day following ratification. The question submitted
2.4must be:
2.5 "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require each provision in a law be
2.6directly and logically related to a single subject; to prohibit a bill from being amended in a
2.7way that changes the original purpose of the bill; to require the new section to be narrowly
2.8construed; to allow a Minnesota resident to allege a violation; and to provide that if a law
2.9is unconstitutional under the new section, the entire law is void and unenforceable?
2.10 Yes ...................
"2.11 No ....................
2.12 (b) The title required under Minnesota Statutes, section 204D.15, subdivision 1, for the
2.13question submitted to the people under paragraph (a) must be: "Single Subject and Title
2.14Clause; Original Purpose."
2.15 Sec. 3. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND INTENT.
2.16 The legislature finds that the constitutional amendment proposed by this act furthers the
2.17important public interest of promoting public transparency by strengthening the single
2.18subject and title clause and by adding an original purpose clause. Moreover, the legislature
2.19finds that it is necessary to provide guidance on interpretation to the courts and to provide
2.20enforcement mechanisms.
2.21 The legislature finds that the practice of using omnibus bills with hundreds or thousands
2.22of provisions on multiple topics under the umbrellas of overly general titles is the antithesis
2.23of public transparency and has pushed the use of the single subject clause to the breaking
2.24point. The courts have infrequently found laws to be in violation of the single subject and
2.25title clauses, and have given deference to the legislature and its authority to act as an
2.26independent branch of government. The court has looked for and used "mere filaments" to
2.27string together pieces of a law into a single subject. The legislature finds that this deference
2.28and liberal construction provided by the court is no longer appropriate or desirable. The
2.29legislature intends to hold itself to a higher standard and to pass bills that are tightly related
2.30to a single subject and to define what constitutes a single subject narrowly. A single subject
2.31is one that has a direct and logical connection to a clearly articulated subject that is stated
2.32in the title of the bill.
2Sec. 3.
25-01261 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR RSI/AC 3.1 Further, the legislature finds that it undermines the goal of public transparency when
3.2the legislature amends a bill so that the bill deviates from its original purpose. To remedy
3.3this, the legislature determines that each bill must not deviate from its original purpose as
3.4the bill moves through the legislative process in the senate and house of representatives.
3.5By requiring a bill to remain true to its original purpose, it will allow the public to know
3.6the unchanging purpose of the bill throughout the entire legislative process. Further, this
3.7requirement will curtail practices that are not in the interest of public transparency, including
3.8but not limited to the practice of using a bill as a vehicle for amendments where the bill and
3.9amendments do not share the same original purpose; amending multiple omnibus bills onto
3.10a single bill where the bills do not all share the same original purpose; and combining bills
3.11and amendments with different original purposes in order to garner support for the bill. The
3.12legislature further finds that when determining what constitutes the original purpose of a
3.13bill, the legislature intends that the court will narrowly construe the original purpose of the
3.14bill. At the same time, the legislature does not intend to unreasonably hinder the legislative
3.15process by preventing amendments or substantive changes to a bill, so long as those
3.16amendments and changes remain true to the original purpose.
3.17 The legislature will diligently strive to meet the constitutional requirements of this act
3.18and to promote the public transparency interests associated with the requirements. The
3.19legislature intends to pass bills that include only provisions that are directly and logically
3.20related to the single subject in the title. Further, as a bill moves through the legislative
3.21process in both bodies of the legislature, the legislature intends that it will not amend the
3.22bill in such a way that the original purpose of that bill is changed. If the legislature fails at
3.23these goals, the legislature intends that the court will narrowly construe the single subject
3.24and title clause and the original purpose clause in favor of public transparency.
3Sec. 3.
25-01261 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR RSI/AC