AARP Minnesota 2024 Legislative Priorities

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. We're advocating for what is important to our members and giving you a voice at the state and federal levels. This year at the state level, we urge lawmakers to help improve driving safety, fight fraud, protect older homeowners from losing home equity when they can’t pay their property taxes, and strengthen Assisted Living protections for residents living in facilities exempt under the law. View letters and testimony from AARP Minnesota to lawmakers and regulators regarding our legislative priorities.

Save Lives on the Road: Reduce Driver Safety Course Length to Increase Participation (SF 727- Nelson; HF 4587 - Bierman) 
AARP supports reducing the rule requiring an 8-hour driver safety course to be eligible for the car insurance discount to 4 hours to increase participation and save lives. Course participation numbers have declined and suffered in states with eight-hour courses at a time when traffic deaths have risen and congestion is at an all-time high. An independent study comparing the four- and eight-hour courses found that course length had no significant impact on the amount of knowledge drivers retained and found that drivers were equally as likely to change 19 safe driving behaviors for the better. Currently, 18 states allow for the 4-hour course without sacrificing content or quality.

Prohibit Predatory Real Estate Scams (SF 3334 – Xiong, HF3338 – Freiberg; SF 4138 – Seeberger, HF 4034, Cha)

AARP supports legislation prohibiting predatory real estate scams and strengthening the current legislation by making it retroactive and allowing the Attorney General to seek restitution from these bad actors. These scams, known as unfair real estate agreements, occur when brokerage firms prey upon vulnerable homeowners, offering small cash gifts (some as low as $300) in exchange for decades-long contracts lasting up to 40 years for exclusive property sales rights. As a result, homeowners have faced huge penalties of 3% of their property value if they want the agreements removed, list their property with another firm, or transfer a property title to a family member upon death, divorce, or foreclosure.

Nearly 500 agreements have been recorded publicly in the Metropolitan seven-county area alone. Sixteen states have already passed legislation banning these agreements, including Maryland, Colorado, Georgia, Tennessee, Idaho, and North Dakota, and several others have sued brokerage firms, including North Carolina and Pennsylvania’s Attorney Generals.

Protect Older Homeowners from Losing the Equity in their Homes When They Can't Pay Their Property Taxes (SF 4985 Sen Westlin; HF 4822 - Feist)

AARP supports legislation prohibiting the unconstitutional practice of county governments from not returning the equity in someone’s home for failure to pay their property taxes. The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, recently held that this is unconstitutional in the case of Tyler versus Hennepin County.

AARP is concerned that the bill as currently written places too much of the burden on homeowners to recover their equity loss and while we have commitments from the authors to address these concerns, we are waiting to see the amendment. Minnesota is one of 10 states where property owners can lose their entire nest egg if they neglect to pay their property tax bill. While property owners should be aware of their responsibility to pay their real estate taxes on time, many of them, particularly the more vulnerable elderly population, don’t understand the complicated tax lien and foreclosure process.  

Create a Restitution Fund for Victims of Scams and Fraud

AARP supports the creation of a state-level Restitution Fund for victims of scams and fraud. A fast-growing fraud industry is stealing billions of dollars from US consumers yearly. The impact is profound, particularly when victims are older adults who are at a time in their lives when they are least able to recover financially. There are few viable options for recovering money lost to scams, but a Consumer Fraud Restitution Fund could help scam and fraud victims recover financially and incentivize more people to report financial crimes.

The fund would be modeled after the Consumer Protection Bureau’s Restitution Fund, and to be eligible for the fund, the Attorney General would have to bring a case against a defendant as a public enforcement action and obtain an Order from the Court based on the AG’s investigation establishing that the person was defrauded. Several states, including North Dakota, have created funds to help scam victims of investor fraud.

Assisted Living Licensure Changes -Chapter 144G (SF 4044 - Hoffman; HF4220 - Lee)
AARP has participated in many stakeholder meetings to address small assisted living providers' unique needs. We recognize the need for flexibility and are open to a limited number of changes that allow portability of general orientation-type training, license portability, and improved access to housing supports. We will identify other targeted modifications to ensure these providers remain an option for residents.

AARP also urges lawmakers to build on the 2019 law to make it even stronger in areas such as increased transparency (facility ownership and change of ownership), staff training specifically related to the mental and behavioral health of the residents, and consumer protections for vulnerable residents residing in assisted living settings that are currently exempt under the law but just as vulnerable as those residing in licensed settings.

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