The legislation includes the following: 

• HCBS Early and Often. The legislature funded positions for the HCBS Licensing Unit to create an Early and Often team. The Early and Often team will assist applicants through the application process and visit programs early and often, providing technical assistance and guidance several times throughout the first two years of operation. Included in the budget without enacting language 

• Positive support competency program and qualifications. The session laws included additional ways to qualify as a positive support professional or positive support analyst. Chapter 9 also establishes a positive supports competency program. 2025 session, chapter 38, article 1, section 5; 1st special session, chapter 9, article 2, sections 6, 7, and 59 

• Prohibited condition of service provision. This section prohibits license holders from requiring a person to have or obtain a guardian or conservator as a condition of receiving or continuing to receive services. 2025 session, chapter 38, article 1, section 6 

• Training on the program’s drug and alcohol policy. Beginning August 1, 2025, license holders must provide training to employees, subcontractors, and volunteers on the program’s drug and alcohol policy before the employee, subcontractor, or volunteer has direct contact with a person served by the program. 2025 session, chapter 38, article 5, section 5 

• Community residential setting clarifications. These sections provide clarifying language regarding community residential settings and remove obsolete language. 2025 session, chapter 38, article 5, sections 12 and 34 

• Anti-kickback. The session law updates anti-kickback statutes to state that offering, giving, soliciting, or receiving anything of value to influence referrals or services could result in administrative sanctions, such as withholding payments or recovering overpayments. The session law also adds kickbacks to the MN criminal code. 2025 session, chapter 38, article 5, sections 27, 28, and 32 

• Compliance education. Starting in 2027, DHS will make licensing compliance education available to all license holders. 1st special session, chapter 9, article 2, section 2 

• List of legal resources. This section directs DHS to provide a list of legal resources to license holders subject to an enforcement action. 1st special session, chapter 9, article 2, section 3 

• Conditional licenses. DHS must inform an HCBS license holder when their next licensing review may result in a conditional license. However, DHS may still take an immediate action if the health, safety, or rights of persons served by the program are imminently endangered. DHS may reduce the length of time of a conditional license if the license holder demonstrates compliance or progress toward compliance. By January 1, 2027, and each year thereafter DHS must issue a report that includes data on 245D licenses. 1st special session, chapter 9, article 2, section 4 

• Mediation after request for reconsideration. Beginning January 1, 2027, DHS must offer the option of mediation for an HCBS license holder if their request for reconsideration is denied and they further dispute the correction order. The license holder must pay for the costs of mediation. 1st special session, chapter 9, article 2, section 5 

• Out-of-home respite for children. This section establishes requirements for 245D service license holders to provide licensed respite services to people under 18 in an out-of-home, unlicensed setting. 1st special session, chapter 9, article 2, section 8 

• Temporary licensing moratorium. DHS has the discretion to implement a temporary licensing moratorium when it determines that exceptional growth in applications for licensure or requests to add new services exceeds the determined need for service capacity. 1st special session, chapter 9, article 10, section 1 

• Change of ownership. DHS may complete a review when owners on a license change. Whenever there is any change to ownership, the license holder must notify DHS of the change. License holders will be charged a fee for each license subject to the change of ownership exception under section 245A.043, subdivision 2, paragraph (b). The fee will be $4,200 for a 245D license and $2,100 for any other license. 1st special session, chapter 9, article 10, sections 3 and 7 

• License application and renewal fees. Effective January 1, 2026, license application fees for 245D licenses will be $4,200. License renewal fees will also increase, based on revenues from the previous calendar year. 1st special session, chapter 9, article 10, sections 6 and 8