Purpose

• The bill aims to support Minnesota manufacturers, especially small ones, by providing state funding to help them grow, improve operations, and compete.

Main Provisions

• Funding and grants
  • Provides $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2027 from the general fund to the commissioner of employment and economic development.
  • The funds are for a grant to Enterprise Minnesota Inc. to directly invest in Minnesota manufacturers under the Made in Minnesota program (as defined in statute 116O.115).
• Services and goals for eligible companies
  • The grant is intended to help Minnesota manufacturers by delivering services focused on:
  • talent leadership
  • employee retention
  • continuous improvement strategy
  • quality management systems
  • revenue growth
  • manufacturing peer-to-peer advisory services
  • Target recipients: small manufacturing companies employing 250 or fewer full-time equivalent employees.
• Reporting requirements
  • Enterprise Minnesota Inc. must report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over economic development by February 1, 2026 and February 1, 2027.
  • Required report contents:
  • The amount of money awarded during the past 12 months
  • The estimated financial impact of the money awarded to each company receiving services
  • The actual financial impact of the money awarded during the past 24 months
  • The total amount of federal money leveraged from the Manufacturing Extension Partnership at the U.S. Department of Commerce
• Administrative change to program name
  • The revisor of statutes must change all references from “small business growth acceleration program” to “Made in Minnesota program” wherever it appears in Minnesota Statutes section 116O.115.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Renaming requirement
  • Replaces the term “small business growth acceleration program” with “Made in Minnesota program” in the applicable statute, aligning program branding with the new appropriation and focus.
• New funding stream
  • Establishes a specific, multi-year general fund appropriation to support Enterprise Minnesota Inc. and its services for small manufacturers under the Made in Minnesota program.
• Enhanced reporting
  • Adds explicit reporting obligations to track both financial and leveraged federal impacts, improving transparency on how funds are used and their outcomes.

Relevant terms - Made in Minnesota program - Minnesota manufacturers - Enterprise Minnesota Inc. - general fund - commissioner of employment and economic development - grant - talent leadership - employee retention - continuous improvement strategy - quality management systems - revenue growth - manufacturing peer-to-peer advisory services - small manufacturing companies - 250 or fewer full-time equivalent employees - reporting - February 1, 2026 - February 1, 2027 - chairs and ranking minority members - legislative committees with jurisdiction over economic development - Manufacturing Extension Partnership - United States Department of Commerce - Minnesota Statutes section 116O.115 - revisor instruction