Rochester Builders Challenge Minnesota’s 2024 Omnibus Law

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - An organization representing the construction industry in the Rochester area is participating in a new lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a piece of legislation critics have referred to as “omnibus prime” and “taximus maximus.”

Rochester builders challenge Minnesota’s 2024 omnibus law

The Upper Midwest Law Center announced the legal challenge at a news conference this morning. The lawsuit was filed by the Rochester Area Builders and the Central Minnesota Builders Association and challenges Minnesota’s 2024 omnibus law.

Legal challenge follows ruling against binary-trigger ban

The 1,400-page law was previously challenged by the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus. That case led to a ruling striking down a ban on binary triggers, which was later upheld by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The ban was included in legislation approved during the so-called “trifecta” session, when Democrats controlled both the Minnesota House and Senate.

Upper Midwest Law Center argues law violates single-subject rule

The judge’s ruling in that case indicated that the Legislature’s decision to combine a wide range of unrelated provisions in one law could open the legislation to further legal challenges. In the new lawsuit, the Rochester Area Builders and the Central Minnesota Builders Association are asking a court to declare the entire 2024 omnibus law unconstitutional.

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Lawsuit targets energy codes and contractor requirements

According to the Upper Midwest Law Center, the lawsuit specifically challenges provisions of the law affecting Minnesota’s construction industry. They include stricter residential energy code requirements, a new test for classifying construction workers as independent contractors, and contractor registration requirements.

Builders argue state law could increase home construction costs

The lawsuit argues that the requirements will “impose serious new burdens on Minnesota’s construction industry.” It also contends that the residential energy mandate included in the law will add an average of $44,000 to the cost of building a two-story house.

“The Minnesota Constitution does not allow lawmakers to bundle unrelated subjects into one bill and force an all-or-nothing vote,” said Nicholas Nelson, senior appellate counsel at the Upper Midwest Law Center. “If the Legislature is going to impose significant new burdens on the people of Minnesota, the Constitution requires that it consider them one subject at a time and give each an up-or-down vote. A court has already found that this law violated that requirement. We are asking the court to apply those same constitutional limits to provisions that directly affect Minnesota’s building industry.”

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