Jan. 1, 2025 saw several new laws take effect across Minnesota ranging from protections for ticket buyers to stricter laws regarding PFAS to mandatory salary ranges and an increase to Minnesota’s minimum hourly wage.

Concert ticket protections
One of the highest profile laws coming into effect in 2025 is HF1989 better known as “The Ticketing Fairness Act,” a bill championed by Rep. Kelly Moller, (DFL – Shoreview) who was unable to buy tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour from Ticketmaster after “a promised code to ensure she could buy Taylor Swift tickets never materialized, preventing Moller and her niece from scoring tickets,” according to an April press release from the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The bill works to ensure that purchasers know the total costs of tickets upfront, that purchasers receive proof of purchase and refund policy details within 24 hours, and bans deceptive advertising and speculative pricing, among other protections.

PFAS
Minnesota has begun implementing a prohibition on “products if the product contains intentionally added PFAS,” as divided into 11 categories: carpets or rugs, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, fabric treatments, juvenile products, menstruation products, textile furnishings, ski wax or upholstered furniture,” according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) website.
The bill is colloquially known as Amara’s Law, named after Amara Strande, a 20-year-old Maplewood resident who contracted cancer of the liver and lobbied Minnesota’s congress to take action against PFAS. Strande died in 2023.
Amara’s Law is part of a larger timeline regarding the phasing out of PFAS in Minnesota that began in 2020 with the prohibition of firefighting foam with intentionally added PFAS. The next steps in the timeline past the Jan. 1, 2025 prohibitions are reporting requirements for “any manufacturer selling products containing intentionally added PFAS in Minnesota,” which will begin in 2026.
The final step of the current timeline is set for Jan. 1, 2032 which will prohibit “all products which contain intentionally added PFAS, including pesticides and soil amendments, […] unless the use of the PFAS in the product is determined to be a currently unavoidable use,” according to the MPCA PFAS use prohibitions page.

Salary ranges and minimum wage
Businesses with 30 or more employees must provide a “starting salary range or fixed pay rate and a general description of all benefits and other compensation,” according to a December press release from the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Also starting this year is an increase to the minimum wage for all Minnesotans to $11.13 per hour. Minnesota has adjusted its minimum wage for inflation starting in 2018. “Beginning Jan. 1, 2018, minimum-wage rates were annually indexed for inflation, with annual increases capped at 2.5%,” that cap was increased to 5% in 2024 according to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Minimum Wage Report for 2024.

Healthcare
Several changes to Minnesotans’ healthcare have come into effect in the new year including policy wins for progressives concerning abortion and gender-affirming care.
Minnesota healthcare plans must provide coverage for “abortions and abortion-related services, including preabortion and follow-up services,” with exceptions due to religious objections, according to a December press release from the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Concerning gender-affirming care, healthcare plans that cover physical or mental health services “must cover medically necessary gender-affirming care or require treatment of medically necessary care.” The law defines medically necessary care as “consistent with generally accepted practice parameters as determined by health care providers in the same or similar general specialty as typically manages the condition, procedure, or treatment at issue and must: (1) help restore or maintain the enrollee’s health; or (2) prevent deterioration of the enrollee’s condition,” according to a December press release from the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Other changes to healthcare include expanded coverage for scalp hair prostheses, better known as wigs, for hair loss “suffered because of a health condition, or for the treatment of cancer.” Another change is a $25 co-pay cap for one-month supplies of prescription drugs for chronic diseases including diabetes and asthma.

Tenants’ rights
Two separate laws regarding renters’ rights took effect in 2025. The first allows tenants to form “an organization to improve housing conditions, amenities, or community life,” according to a December press release from the Minnesota House of Representatives. Tenants forming organizations are also protected under the law from retaliation from landlords including rent increases, filing legal action, and contacting law enforcement about the tenant’s immigration status.
The second law expands Minnesota’s cold weather rule, the law that prevents utility service shutoff from Oct. 1 to April 30, to shared-meter utility billing. The law also provides tenants with recourse for inaccurate submetering systems as well as barring charging tenants for utilities when the measuring device has to be replaced.