OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Intergovernmental Relations Committee Meeting - June 9, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, June 9, 2026
BodyMinneapolis, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, June 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:09:04
Transcript — Verbatim
0:20

Good morning and welcome.

0:22

My name is Areen Chowdhury, and I'm the chair of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

0:27

At this time, I'm going to call to order our regular meeting for Tuesday, June 9th, 2026.

0:32

I want to offer a friendly reminder to all committee members, staff, and the public that these meetings are broadcast live to enable greater public participation.

0:41

These broadcasts include real-time captioning as a further method to increase the accessibility of our proceedings to the community.

0:48

Therefore, all speakers need to be mindful of the rate of their speech so that our captioners can fully capture and transcribe all comments for the broadcast.

0:57

We ask all speakers to moderate the speed and clarity of their comments.

1:02

I will now have the clerk call the roll to verify that we have a quorum.

1:06

Councilmember Payne.

1:08

Present.

1:12

Warren is absent.

1:14

Osman is absent.

1:16

Schaefer?

1:17

Present.

1:18

Stevenson?

1:20

Present.

1:20

Chavez?

1:21

Present.

1:22

Chigte, present.

1:24

Whiting.

1:25

Present.

1:25

Palmasano.

1:26

Present.

1:27

Vice Chair Rainville is absent.

1:29

And Chair Chowdery.

1:31

Present.

1:32

There are eight members present.

1:33

Let the record reflect that we have a quorum.

1:35

I'll also remind my colleagues that we are using speaker management today, so please log in.

1:42

Our first item is on consent.

1:46

Um, but I am gonna have uh Director Topinka come and speak to this if that's all right.

1:51

Uh it's a resolution granting a local approval of special law.

1:55

This special law is related to the public employees retirement association, also known as Para.

2:02

Welcome, Director Topinka.

2:04

Thank you, Chair Chowdery and Council members.

2:07

Um yes, this resolution before you is to approve a special law that the legislature passed as part of the omnibus pensions bill uh during the last session.

2:16

Uh this special law is specifically for um to address a paraissure related to a former public works employee.

2:24

Uh this employee was a seasonal employee that was hired in 2016, and then again each year through 2022.

2:31

Um based on the way para accruals work, this employee should have been had deductions starting in 20 uh 16 through 2022 for his service, but the information was not consistently reported to Para.

2:46

Um it was identified through an audit and um the city worked with Para to remedy as much as we could administratively, but the only way to ensure the employee could get the credit for 2016, 2017, and 2018 was through this special legislation.

3:01

Um so we worked with Para and Representative Jordan carried the bill, it went through the pensions committee and was ultimately included in the pensions bill.

3:10

So just to kind of get it across the finish line, we do need this final step.

3:14

It's just in statute that council or the local governing body must approve a special law for it to go into effect.

3:20

So if you do approve the resolution, we will then submit that information to the Secretary of State's office, and the um the special law will go into effect at that point, and then this employee can be eligible for the full uh para benefits that they're eligible for.

3:34

Great.

3:35

Thank you so much.

3:36

Are there any questions or comments?

3:38

I'll recognize Councilmember Palmasano.

3:41

Thank you, madam chair.

3:42

Director Dupinka, the way you describe this is that it is a special law that will benefit one person.

3:47

Can you help me understand how either we've also changed laws or are doing different things to make sure that this doesn't happen again?

3:59

I think what you're saying is we need a special law to fix this one thing retroactively, but we've figured it out going forward.

4:07

Is that accurate?

4:09

Uh Chair Chowdry, Councilmember Palmasano.

4:12

Um, yes, we needed the special law to fix this one thing.

4:15

This is not uh entirely unusual in the pensions bill.

4:18

Um it's something that you know there was another special law for somebody in a different part of the state in this omnibus pensions bill as well.

4:25

So this is um correcting this one very specific issue.

4:28

Um, but but yes, uh going forward.

4:32

Um, ideally something like this won't be needed again.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Intergovernmental Relations█████████████████████████████████████████████49%
Personnel Matters████████9%
Public Safety████████9%
Public Health██████7%
Cannabis Regulation██████7%
Affordable Housing█████5%
Transportation Safety█████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure████4%
Miscellaneous███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Intergovernmental Relations Committee Meeting - June 9, 2026

The Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the Minneapolis City Council met on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at 3:04 PM CT. Chair Areen Chowdhury presided. Eight members were present, establishing a quorum. The meeting covered a consent item approving a special law for a PERA pension correction and a detailed presentation on state and federal legislative updates.

Consent Calendar

  • Resolution Approving Special Law for PERA: The committee unanimously approved a resolution granting local approval of a special law related to the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA). The law corrects a reporting error for a former seasonal public works employee hired from 2016 to 2022, ensuring the employee receives pension credit for 2016–2018. Director Topinka explained that the city and PERA resolved the issue administratively for later years, but special legislation was needed for the earlier period. The resolution passed by voice vote with no opposition.

Discussion Items

  • Federal Legislative Update (presented by Lauren Olson):

    • Reconciliation Bill: The Senate passed a version funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for 3.5 years; the House is expected to act this week. The proposed $1.8 million IRS settlement fund (anti-weaponization fund) was not included, and lawsuits are ongoing.
    • FY2027 Appropriations: The House has passed 2 of 12 appropriations bills; the Senate is focused on reconciliation. Key proposals include increased funding for CBP, ICE, and FEMA; TSA privatization efforts; $40 million for body cameras; cuts to Department of Education (10%) and ACA marketplace funding ($2 billion); and prohibitions on spending for DEI, abortion, and Second Amendment limitations.
    • Earmarks: Minneapolis has submitted requests for $3 million for police records management, police recruitment internships, forensic lab funds, and pedestrian access/safety improvements.
    • Other Federal Actions: The House passed a war powers resolution on Iran (non-binding), approved Russia sanctions and Ukraine aid via discharge petition (Rep. Omar voted no), and confirmed a permanent Attorney General. The acting Director of National Intelligence was named, raising concerns about potential misuse of data.

  • State Legislative Update (presented by Steve Huser, Indiria Falana, and Director Topinka):

    • Session Overview: The 2026 legislative session ended May 18. Over 10,400 bills were introduced; 91 chapters of law passed. Key topics included Operation Metro Surge impacts, gun safety, HCMC funding, and a bonding bill.
    • Operation Metro Surge Relief: Proposals for $100 million in small business relief, rental assistance, and $10 million in city aid did not pass due to gridlock in the House.
    • Tax and Economic Growth: $125 million in one-time property tax relief (15% increase to homestead credit refunds for homeowners earning under $143,000) was approved. Bills to add the North Loop to downtown liquor/restaurant tax boundaries and to repeal the two-thirds signature requirement for rezoning in first-class cities did not pass.
    • Housing and Homelessness: $100 million for housing infrastructure bonds, $40 million for family homelessness prevention (using $38 million from a tax forfeiture settlement), and $13 million for supportive housing to fill a federal funding gap were approved.
    • Zoning and Land Use: The Starter Homes Act (preempting local zoning) and a bill limiting private equity ownership of single-family homes did not pass.
    • Energy and Environment: No omnibus energy bill passed; a nuclear energy study was funded. Data center bills (including a moratorium and NDA ban) did not pass. Battery recycling legislation failed again.
    • Hennepin County Medical Center: $205 million was approved to stabilize HCMC, plus $500 million over five years for a hospital stabilization program.
    • Other State Actions: A statewide massage therapy regulatory framework was created (preempts local ordinances effective July 2028). Group home licensing changes allow local inspection authority. Medicaid changes include work requirements for adults without children and reduced retroactive coverage.
    • Capital Investment: Minneapolis received $24.475 million in bonding: $12.36 million for a 36-inch water main, $8 million for 13th Avenue NE stormwater improvements, $4 million for the Water Yard project (East Phillips Urban Farm), and $115,000 for ADA infrastructure. KMOJ radio station received $1 million.
    • Pensions: The omnibus pensions bill created a retirement plan for public safety telecommunicators (911), established a work group on duty disability, and expanded line-of-duty death benefits retroactive to February 2020 for certain cancers and communicable illnesses.
    • Transportation: No transportation omnibus bill passed. Autonomous vehicle legislation was debated but not enacted. A bus camera enforcement bill for bus/bike lanes did not pass. Electric bicycle definition updates failed.
    • Community Safety: A supplemental safety spending bill passed, including $905,000 for non-fatal shooting case clearance grants and $2 million for the Philando Castile training grant program. A radio task force for the ARMER system was created; the city will have a seat. Comprehensive gun safety legislation (assault weapons ban, high-capacity magazine restrictions, ghost gun ban) passed the Senate but stalled in the House after a DFL sit-in. A statewide threat reporting system was included in the education omnibus bill.
    • Cannabis: An omnibus cannabis bill made technical changes to licensing, local certification, population caps, and compliance reporting.

  • Next Steps – 2027 Policy Liaison Team (PLT) Process: The PLT process begins June 2026. Departments will submit proposals; draft proposals will be presented to the committee in late October 2026, with adoption of the 2027 legislative agenda expected in early December. The next legislative session starts January 12, 2027.

Key Outcomes

  • Resolution Approved: The special law for PERA pension correction was approved unanimously.
  • Presentation Filed: The state and federal updates were received and filed by the clerk.
  • Committee Adjourned: All business concluded; meeting adjourned without objection.
  • Future Engagement: Chair Chowdhury announced one-on-one meetings with council members to discuss legislative priorities ahead of the PLT process.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning and welcome. My name is Areen Chowdhury, and I'm the chair of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee. At this time, I'm going to call to order our regular meeting for Tuesday, June 9th, 2026. I want to offer a friendly reminder to all committee members, staff, and the public that these meetings are broadcast live to enable greater public participation. These broadcasts include real-time captioning as a further method to increase the accessibility of our proceedings to the community. Therefore, all speakers need to be mindful of the rate of their speech so that our captioners can fully capture and transcribe all comments for the broadcast. We ask all speakers to moderate the speed and clarity of their comments. I will now have the clerk call the roll to verify that we have a quorum. Councilmember Payne. Present. Warren is absent. Osman is absent. Schaefer? Present. Stevenson? Present. Chavez? Present. Chigte, present. Whiting. Present. Palmasano. Present. Vice Chair Rainville is absent. And Chair Chowdery. Present. There are eight members present. Let the record reflect that we have a quorum. I'll also remind my colleagues that we are using speaker management today, so please log in. Our first item is on consent. Um, but I am gonna have uh Director Topinka come and speak to this if that's all right. Uh it's a resolution granting a local approval of special law. This special law is related to the public employees retirement association, also known as Para. Welcome, Director Topinka. Thank you, Chair Chowdery and Council members. Um yes, this resolution before you is to approve a special law that the legislature passed as part of the omnibus pensions bill uh during the last session. Uh this special law is specifically for um to address a paraissure related to a former public works employee. Uh this employee was a seasonal employee that was hired in 2016, and then again each year through 2022. Um based on the way para accruals work, this employee should have been had deductions starting in 20 uh 16 through 2022 for his service, but the information was not consistently reported to Para. Um it was identified through an audit and um the city worked with Para to remedy as much as we could administratively, but the only way to ensure the employee could get the credit for 2016, 2017, and 2018 was through this special legislation. Um so we worked with Para and Representative Jordan carried the bill, it went through the pensions committee and was ultimately included in the pensions bill. So just to kind of get it across the finish line, we do need this final step. It's just in statute that council or the local governing body must approve a special law for it to go into effect. So if you do approve the resolution, we will then submit that information to the Secretary of State's office, and the um the special law will go into effect at that point, and then this employee can be eligible for the full uh para benefits that they're eligible for. Great. Thank you so much. Are there any questions or comments? I'll recognize Councilmember Palmasano. Thank you, madam chair. Director Dupinka, the way you describe this is that it is a special law that will benefit one person.

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