What Minnesota laws go into effect August 1?
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Another round of new Minnesota laws goes into effect Aug. 1, including the viral “Grandparents’ Happy Hour” legislation, a virtual currency kiosk ban and the establishment of a statewide grant program aimed at reducing crime by investigating nonfatal shootings.
Here’s some of the laws that go into effect Saturday and how they could affect you:
Public safety
Grant program to solve nonfatal shootings
A law establishes the Minnesota Clearance Grant Program, an initiative meant to lower crime rates across the state by aggressively investigating nonfatal shootings. The logic here is that perpetrators of nonfatal shootings can go on to commit additional crimes just as perpetrators of fatal shootings can, so police should put similar effort into solving those cases.
The program is inspired by a successful Ramsey County and St. Paul Police Department initiative. At a Capitol press conference earlier this year, representatives from law enforcement and both conservative and progressive nonprofits pushed for the statewide grant program proposal.
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“When people from diverse philosophies come together and speak united, we should all listen,” said David Zimmer of the conservative think tank the Center of the American Experiment.
Nudification technology ban
Minnesota law now says “a person who owns or controls a website, application, software, program or other service must not allow a user to access, download or use the website, application, software, program or other service to nudify an image or video, or nudify an image or video on behalf of a user.”
Nudification tools allow users to digitally alter photos or videos of other people using artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit content without the person’s consent.
This law is being challenged in federal court by a company tied to Elon Musk, so it’s unclear if it will take full force as intended.
Supporters say it should.
“Nudification technology makes it so that any single one of us, by simply existing in this world, could be victimized at any time,” Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, said at a Capitol press conference Wednesday.
“Nudification technology allows any person with a phone to take a picture of our children in the grocery store, or playing at the park, or sitting in church, and turn them into child sexual abuse material.”
Minnesota is the first state to ban this technology. The law also allows people depicted in nudified images or videos to bring civil action in court.
Increased penalties for impersonating law enforcement
A law increases the charge for impersonating a police officer from a misdemeanor to a felony. That makes the maximum penalty up to two years in prison if the offender doesn’t take additional action during the impersonation. The offender could face up to five years in prison in instances including using the deception to gain access to a government building not open to the public or driving a vehicle made to look like a police vehicle.
Penalties further increase for repeat offenders and impersonators carrying a firearm.
The increased penalties are a reaction to the actions of Vance Boelter, who has pleaded guilty to murdering state Rep. Melissa Hortman and injuring state Sen. John Hoffman as part of a larger plan to attack DFL lawmakers last summer. Boelter outfitted his vehicle to look like a police car and dressed like a police officer to entice lawmakers to open the doors of their homes to him.
Police must disclose when chemical irritants used within buildings
This law is also a result of Boelter’s attacks. Colin Hortman, whose parents were both killed in their home by Boelter, testified at the Capitol this spring about the long, difficult and expensive process he and his sister had to go through to clean his parents’ home after the shooting and the law enforcement response.
Police now have to give specific information about any chemical products they use in a building when asked by the building owner, a tenant, an insurance company or someone hired to clean the building.
Prediction markets would have been banned, but a judge stepped in
A law that makes creating or operating a prediction market a felony was supposed to kick in. But a federal judge blocked it while a lawsuit challenging the ban plays out in court. That leaves the law in limbo for now.
A prediction market is an online platform where users can wager on the outcomes of real-life events.
Though the ban on the online markets themselves is paused, Gov. Tim Walz has issued an executive order preventing state employees from using private government information to make bets on prediction markets.
Kratom legal age raised
The legal age to possess or purchase kratom, an herbal substance that can cause effects like opioids or stimulants can, is being raised from 18 to 21. Kratom is sometimes sold at smoke shops or on online stores.
Virtual currency
Banks can offer virtual currency services
Banks and credit unions will be able to provide some virtual currency services. Advocates for the legislation, including banks and credit unions, argue this law gives Minnesotans a safer way to manage their cryptocurrency or other virtual currencies and avoid fraud, scams or hacking.
Check out Minnesota Now’s conversation with the Minnesota Department of Commerce deputy commissioner about what this change could mean for the state’s economy.
Crypto ATMs banned
Virtual currency kiosks are banned and must be offline starting Aug. 1, but operators have a grace period until Dec. 31 of this year to physically remove them.
These machines look and work a lot like an ATM, but critics highlight how they’ve been used to scam Minnesotans, especially seniors. Find out more about how the machines work and how they’ve been used for scams here.
Veterans
High school diplomas for some vets
A law requires school districts and charter schools to issue, upon request, high school diplomas to Korean and Vietnam War veterans who weren’t able to finish their secondary education. Family members can also request a diploma on behalf of a veteran who has died.
Some veterans benefits extended to Laotian fighters
In the 1960s and ‘70s, the CIA and U.S. military conducted a massive and secretive bombing campaign in Laos against the country’s communist government. The CIA recruited Indigenous Hmong people in Laos to their cause and some of those former fighters now live in Minnesota. For decades, they weren’t recognized as veterans. A 2025 law changed that and made them eligible for certain state benefits and created a working group on benefits for veterans of the Secret War in Laos.
This past legislative session, some Hmong veterans were back at the state Capitol pushing for passage of some of the working group recommendations. That includes establishing a comprehensive eligibility process for special guerilla unit veterans to access many of the same benefits as other Minnesota veterans.
More information about eligibility requirements and accessing those benefits can be found here.
Additional laws
Donating expired poultry eggs
Minnesota’s food banks have faced a lot of challenges this year, including federal funding cuts and increased demand due to the rising cost of living and fear of federal immigration agents that kept workers home this winter. But thanks to a bipartisan law, eggs can be donated past their quality assurance date when they are still safe to eat.
‘Grandparents’ Happy Hour’ law
Eighty-two-year-old Champlin grandmother Anita LeBrun won hearts and minds around the country when she testified at the Minnesota Capitol in favor of making it easier for retirement homes to serve alcohol at events.
The bipartisan law removes a previous requirement for retirement homes to maintain a liquor license to serve alcohol, which could cost thousands of dollars a year.
