A version of the bill that would exempt cities’ comprehensive plans from certain lawsuits under the Minnesota Environmental Review Act has made its way into the state and local government supplemental budget bill.

This policy would exempt comprehensive plans from being sued under MERA for creating dense housing and would be retroactive to March 2018. The policy was amended into the supplemental budget bill on April 18 with a unanimous voice vote by the State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committee. Advocates for the bill say they are waiting to see what the Senate does with the policy, but they are “cautiously optimistic.”

The retroactive nature of the policy would create protection for the city of Minneapolis’ 2040 Comprehensive Plan, a plan that removed single-family-only zoning and has been cited by researchers as being a reason for Minneapolis keeping its rent increases lower than the rest of the nation. However, a lawsuit against the plan, under MERA, brought its implementation to a halt.

Rep. Sydney Jordan, the sponsor of the original bill House File 4028, said in an interview with Finance & Commerce that she was “nervous” about the bill’s status because the Legislature is “full of ups and downs.” She said, however, that she’s grateful the bill was included in the state and local government supplemental budget bill because of the issues facing Minneapolis.

“It was a bill that was necessary for my city that I represent,” Jordan said. “I felt it was important, especially because my city was trying to make sure we were permitting housing and permitting density, which is much more beneficial for the environment than promoting less-dense sorts of development.”

The bill would provide shelter for all cities in the Twin Cities metro that are planning for density under MERA, not just Minneapolis, said PeggySue Imihy Bean, the president of the American Planning Association Minnesota Chapter.

Jordan said that there is more work that needs to be done to the policy and that there are more stops for the state and local government supplemental budget bill. But she said she is confident the needs can be addressed by the end of session.

The Senate version of the bill, Senate File 4183, made it through its committee assignments, receiving a vote from the Transportation Committee, the Environment, Climate and Legacy Committee, and was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill by the State and Local Government and Veterans Committee at its March 26 Committee meeting.

Sam Richie, a lobbyist for the Minnesota chapter of the American Planning Association, said he and others who are pushing the policy feel “cautiously optimistic” about the Senate including it in the omnibus bill. Richie said he thinks they have support from legislators, but said he is waiting for something to be in writing.

Jack Perry, a lawyer at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP who represents the groups that brought the lawsuit against the Minneapolis 2040 Plan, said he is “confident” the bill will not pass the Senate.

When probed on what would happen to the lawsuit if the exemption is included in the final omnibus bill and signed by Gov. Tim Walz, Perry said the question was “phony” because he doesn’t think the bill will get “anywhere near Walz’s desk.”

Perry called the city of Minneapolis “radical intransigents” and compared it to the character Veruca Salt from the 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” who insists her parents give her whatever she wants.

“I don’t think there’s the votes in the House,” he said. “I don’t think there’s votes in the Senate because people do not want to reward Veruca Salts.”

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