The Minnesota Senate on May 17 adopted the conference committee report on Senate File 2298, the housing omnibus policy and finance bill, and repassed the bill as amended by the committee.

The conference report adjusted several appropriations from the Senate position: it set Family Homelessness Prevention and Assistance Program (FHPAP) funding at $8,350,000 (a reduction from the Senate proposal of $10,150,000), retained $2,000,000 each for Greater Minnesota infrastructure and community‑based first‑generation down‑payment assistance, and added multiple $2,000,000 allocations for workforce homeownership, challenge programs and agency first‑generation down‑payment assistance. The report also authorized $50,000,000 in housing infrastructure bonds and carried increases in tail funding totaling $3.8 million.

Policy provisions in the conference report did not include zoning or land‑use mandates; conferees said they could not reach agreement on those items this year. Instead, the conference language creates incentives for municipalities that adopt zoning and land‑use changes by awarding additional points in Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) scoring for certain applications. The report also postponed the enactment of the manufactured‑housing statute chapter (308C) from August 2025 to August 2026, updated prevailing wage rules for certain projects that receive federal low‑income housing tax credits, and added reporting requirements on options for public housing authorities to participate in the federal RAD program while remaining eligible for GO bonds.

Senator Porte, who presented the conference report on the floor, said the bill contains investments in homeownership, affordable housing construction and homelessness prevention and described the measure as a “meaningful step forward” while acknowledging that additional reforms will be necessary.

Critics on the floor said the bill did not go far enough. Senator Lucero said the measure failed to substantially address the state’s housing shortage and criticized the use of housing infrastructure bonds as costly, saying the conference text included ambiguous language in heating provisions that had not been fully vetted and would need correction in a future bill.

The Senate gave the bill a third reading and passed it as amended by the conference committee by a roll call of 36 ayes to 31 nays. Supporters described the package as investments and incentives to build and preserve housing; detractors said more comprehensive zoning and land‑use reform will be required to move housing costs at scale.

The conference report was adopted on the floor; conferees said additional work on zoning and technical language will continue in coming sessions.