MN Chamber leader addresses EP Chamber on 2025 legislative concerns

As Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce President Pat MulQueeny introduced speaker Doug Loon, president and CEO of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, at a May 29 event, he noted that the Eden Prairie chamber had originally billed Loon’s speech as a legislative recap. It changed to a legislative update.

That’s because, while the Minnesota Legislature adjourned on May 19, it hasn’t yet passed several spending bills. A special session is likely and, meanwhile, legislators are meeting privately in working groups. 

“My message is, if you care about any of these issues, today’s the day, quite honestly, to get in touch with your legislators,” Loon said at the end of his presentation. “I’m surprised how little legislators hear from their constituency at this point of the session.”

Loon’s presentation focused on economic and business concerns, including the impact of mandates passed in the 2024 legislative session such as an Earned Sick and Safe Time law that went into effect last year and the Paid Leave law set to go into effect in January 2026. 

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“Small businesses, in particular, were hit by this hard. Larger businesses have the ability to build systems around these,” Loon said. The Minnesota Chamber’s concerns with the Paid Leave program, Loon said, include the impact on employee paychecks and employers’ ability to manage leave requests in terms of timing and backfill on staffing.

The program calls for those participating in Paid Leave to receive benefits paid by the state of Minnesota, which are financed through payroll deductions on wages. Employers are required to pay at least half of the premium. Employees will petition for the leave through the state program. 

During the 2025 Minnesota legislative session, Loon said, the Minnesota Chamber lobbied for changes to the Minnesota law to make it more similar to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Additionally, the Minnesota Chamber wanted exemptions for small businesses, a tighter definition of family, and changes to the opt-out provisions. 

Workforce, permitting concerns

Noting that the Minnesota Chamber Foundation has taken on research related to the state’s economy, Loon indicated that the state organization has concerns about expanding the state’s workforce. 

“We have one of the highest labor force participation rates in the country. That’s an asset,” he said. The flip side of having 76% of the able, working-age population already in the workforce, he said, is that it doesn’t leave room to grow. 

State demographic statistics indicate a forecasted decline in natural population (the difference between births and deaths), as well as a decrease in domestic migration, Loon said. “We used to be able to track folks from all around the earth, and we still do, but we’re losing more of them to other states,” Loon said.

He noted that the gap is particularly concerning in people ages 17 to 24. Possible explanations include an increase in amenities among surrounding states, Loon said.  

Other things the Minnesota Chamber pushed for in the 2025 legislative session, Loon said, included approval for data center construction within the state and changes in the length of time to receive environmental permitting approvals from the state.

Regarding data centers, Loon stated that Minnesota already houses 40. For new proposals, he said, “The reality is, they’re going to get built. They might as well get built here in Minnesota.”

On environmental permitting, Loon said comparisons to states with similar standards such as Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin indicate that those states generally complete their permitting process in 110 to 120 days. “Minnesota takes, on average, 656 days,” he said.

“Nobody’s suggesting we lower our standards. We want our water and air to be as clean as possible,” Loon said, but added, “If you’re a business and you’re looking to expand or make an investment in your current facility, are you going to do it Minnesota, when you have this looming over you? Over that window of time, two years, that suddenly doesn’t look all that appealing if you’re going to be sitting around waiting that long.”

Loon also discussed proposed modifications to a state research and development tax credit to make it a refundable credit (SF 1237). “So if you’re a small business, you’re going to get that support in the year that you took that expense,” Loon said. 

Where do the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 legislative priorities stand? “Almost everything I talked about needs to be wrapped up,” Loon said.

While he expressed confidence that permitting reforms would pass, everything else is still pending and could be subject to trades within bills during conference committee working groups in preparation for a special session.

Having previously noted the 2025 Minnesota Legislature’s bipartisan nature, with a House evenly split between 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans and the Senate split 34-33 toward the DFL, Loon commented, “The difference between the ‘23 session and what we have in the ‘25 session is remarkable.”

He called the 2025 session “sluggish” in comparison to the 2024 session, which saw a DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) trifecta control of the state House, Senate, and governor’s office.

“Elections matter,” Loon said. “I think the voting public said, ‘We’re going to create balance by creating truly a balanced legislature. And that produces requirements that if you’re going to do anything, you’ve got to have a bipartisan strategy.”