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# Minnesota builders’ lawsuit targets the process behind 2024 construction rules
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/state-news-minnesota-2026-10-20-a/
- Published: 2026-10-20T14:21:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-20T14:21:21.000Z
- Description: Two Minnesota builders associations are challenging construction provisions in the 2024 omnibus law. Their lawsuit asks for broad invalidation, but the constitutional dispute turns on how laws are assembled as well as what they require.
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Policy, Minnesota

Two Minnesota builders associations filed a lawsuit on October 19 seeking to invalidate construction rules—and potentially the entire omnibus law—enacted in 2024\. The Central Minnesota Builders Association and Rochester Area Builders Inc., represented by the Upper Midwest Law Center, argue that the legislation violated the state Constitution’s single-subject and title requirements, according to [Minnesota Reformer](https://minnesotareformer.com/2026/10/19/conservative-legal-organization-sues-over-2024-omnibus/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) and [Valley News Live](https://www.valleynewslive.com/2026/10/19/minnesota-builders-groups-sue-over-2024-omnibus-laws-construction-regulations/?ref=theamericanquorum.com).

The suit names Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Labor and Industry Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach in their official capacities. The law center’s published [complaint copy](https://www.umlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Builders-Omnibus-Challenge-Complaint.docx.pdf?ref=theamericanquorum.com) sets out the plaintiffs’ requested relief; it is their argument, not a judicial finding that the challenged requirements are invalid.

## Three construction issues, one constitutional challenge

The builders target residential energy-code changes, the legal test distinguishing construction employees from independent contractors, and contractor registration requirements. Their [complaint](https://www.umlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Builders-Omnibus-Challenge-Complaint.docx.pdf?ref=theamericanquorum.com) challenges an energy-code mandate aimed at a 70% reduction in annual net energy consumption by 2038\. The same three areas are identified in [independent reporting](https://www.valleynewslive.com/2026/10/19/minnesota-builders-groups-sue-over-2024-omnibus-laws-construction-regulations/?ref=theamericanquorum.com).

The requested remedy extends beyond rewriting one construction standard. The plaintiffs ask the court to declare the entire 2024 omnibus law unconstitutional and prevent enforcement, or alternatively to invalidate specified construction-related provisions. That distinction in the [requested relief](https://www.umlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Builders-Omnibus-Challenge-Complaint.docx.pdf?ref=theamericanquorum.com) makes the case consequential beyond individual builders, without establishing that the court will grant either remedy.

The Labor and Industry Department’s [current guidance](https://dli.mn.gov/misclassification-construction?ref=theamericanquorum.com) illustrates the practical stakes: construction workers are treated as employees unless the business meets all 14 independent-contractor requirements. Those include business independence, required insurance and registrations, and written-contract conditions. That agency guidance describes the regulatory framework being contested; it is separate from the builders’ constitutional allegations.

## What the constitutional rule requires

The Legislature’s nonpartisan [House Research guide](https://www.house.mn.gov/hrd/pubs/ss/sssubtitle.pdf?ref=theamericanquorum.com) explains that Minnesota’s Constitution imposes two related requirements: an act must address one subject, and its title must identify that subject. The provision was intended to discourage combining unrelated policies in ways that obscure their contents or force lawmakers to accept measures they might reject separately.

The same guide cautions against treating length alone as proof of a violation. Courts give legislators substantial latitude to define broad subjects, and a long act can comply while a shorter one fails. The issue is whether provisions connect to a general subject and whether the title gives adequate notice—not simply how many pages lawmakers approved.

Remedies also vary. [House Research](https://www.house.mn.gov/hrd/pubs/ss/sssubtitle.pdf?ref=theamericanquorum.com) says courts have generally removed challenged provisions narrowly, while recognizing circumstances in which an entire act can fall. That legal background explains the alternative requests in the builders’ complaint, rather than predicting the outcome of this case.

The new case follows earlier litigation over the same omnibus law. [Minnesota Reformer](https://minnesotareformer.com/2026/10/19/conservative-legal-organization-sues-over-2024-omnibus/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) and [Valley News Live](https://www.valleynewslive.com/2026/10/19/minnesota-builders-groups-sue-over-2024-omnibus-laws-construction-regulations/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) report that a prior challenge succeeded against its binary-trigger ban. That narrower result is not a ruling that every provision of the law has been invalidated.