Conservative Legal Organization Sues – Again — Over Constitutionality Of DFL's 2024 Omnibus

By Madison McVan, Minnesota Reformer

October 19, 2026

A conservative legal organization is representing homebuilders in a lawsuit aimed at invalidating parts of — if not all of — a 1,400-page mega-bill passed by the DFL-controlled Legislature in the chaotic final minutes of the 2024 legislative session.

The Minnesota Constitution requires that bills address a single subject, and that the title of the bill reflects that subject. Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers assembled and passed the omnibus in the final shambolic hours of the 2024 legislative session following days of filibustering by Republican lawmakers, who shouted “Shame!” and “Follow the rules!” on the House floor as the DFL voted on the bill.

The bill contained a wide range of new laws, from minimum pay rates for Uber and Lyft drivers to increased penalties for straw gun purchases and changes to the state’s paid leave law. The bill’s title was more than five pages long.

Previous plaintiffs suing over the same issue have already succeeded in getting parts of the bill overturned, and the continued litigation is a cautionary tale for future legislatures that try to cram all their bills into a mega-bill. Although the 2024 example is the most extreme in memory, legislative majorities of both parties have often loaded bills into mega-bills out of legislative and political expediency.

Central Minnesota Builders Association and Rochester Area Builders Inc. are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Monday by attorneys with the Upper Midwest Law Center. The lawsuit challenges the construction industry regulations in the bill, including restrictions on the use of independent contractors; new registration rules for construction companies; and, a requirement that the state residential energy code reduce net energy consumption by 70% by 2038.

The lawsuit asks that a state judge invalidate the entirety of the 2024 bill under the Constitution’s single subject clause — or to at least strike down its construction-related laws.

“This mega-omnibus bill creates an earthquake of increased costs and opportunities for fraud in our state,” said Nicholas Nelson, an attorney with the Upper Midwest Law Center.

The Upper Midwest Law Center, representing the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, already successfully overturned one major policy provision in the bill: a ban on binary triggers, which increase the rate of fire of semiautomatic firearms.

In that case, Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro wrote that “the 2024 Omnibus Bill violates the Single Subject and Title Clause, because, at best, it contains many non-germane parts, and at worst, has no identifiable common theme.”

The ruling set the stage for further lawsuits from conservative organizations challenging other portions of the bill. Nelson said Monday’s lawsuit is the fifth such case.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..