Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota Senate Bill SF2816 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1.1 A bill for an act
2	2	1.2 relating to higher education; requiring refund of unused student meal plan balances;
3	3	1.3 requiring a report; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter
4	4	1.4 135A.
5	5	1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
6	6	1.6 Section 1. [135A.196] REFUNDS FOR UNUSED MEAL PLAN BALANCES.
7	7	1.7 Subdivision 1.Definitions.(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have
8	8	1.8the meanings given.
9	9	1.9 (b) "Higher education institution" means any public or private postsecondary institution
10	10	1.10that is physically located in Minnesota that offers meal plans to students and receives federal
11	11	1.11or state financial aid funds on behalf of students.
12	12	1.12 (c) "Meal plan" means a prepaid plan offered by a higher education institution that
13	13	1.13provides students with access to campus dining services, including but not limited to meal
14	14	1.14swipes, dining dollars, or other credit-based systems for purchasing food and beverages on
15	15	1.15campus.
16	16	1.16 (d) "Unused balance" refers to any remaining funds or meal credits on a student's meal
17	17	1.17plan account that have not been used by the student as of 30 days after the end of the spring
18	18	1.18academic term, or the withdrawal or matriculation of the student, including:
19	19	1.19 (1) the cash value of any prepaid dollar or dollar-equivalent balance; and
20	20	1.20 (2) the cash value of any unused meal vouchers.
21	21	1Section 1.
22	22	25-04073 as introduced03/14/25 REVISOR VH/MI
23	23	SENATE
24	24	STATE OF MINNESOTA
25	25	S.F. No. 2816NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
26	26	(SENATE AUTHORS: CLARK and Duckworth)
27	27	OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
28	28	Introduction and first reading03/20/2025
29	29	Referred to Higher Education 2.1 (e) "Federal or state financial aid" means financial assistance provided to students through
30	30	2.2programs authorized under federal or Minnesota state law, including grants, scholarships,
31	31	2.3loans, or other monetary assistance intended to support educational expenses.
32	32	2.4 (f) "Refund" means the return of unused balances to the student in the form of a check,
33	33	2.5electronic deposit, or credit applied to the student's account in compliance with this section.
34	34	2.6 Subd. 2.Refund requirement.(a) Not more than 45 days following the end of the spring
35	35	2.7academic term, or the withdrawal or matriculation of a student, a higher education institution
36	36	2.8must:
37	37	2.9 (1) refund any unused balance to a student; or
38	38	2.10 (2) at the student's request, apply the unused balance to the next academic term if the
39	39	2.11student has not withdrawn or matriculated.
40	40	2.12 (b) The Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota is requested to comply with
41	41	2.13this section.
42	42	2.14 Subd. 3.Prohibition on meal plan fund forfeiture.A higher education institution must
43	43	2.15not require students to forfeit unused balance or impose restrictions on the use of meal plan
44	44	2.16funds that result in financial disadvantage to a student.
45	45	2.17 Subd. 4.Transparency and reporting.(a) A higher education institution must provide
46	46	2.18a student with regular updates on the student's meal plan balance.
47	47	2.19 (b) A higher education institution must annually report meal plan balance refund practices
48	48	2.20and the higher education institution's compliance with this section to the commissioner of
49	49	2.21the Office of Higher Education.
50	50	2Section 1.
51	51	25-04073 as introduced03/14/25 REVISOR VH/MI