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Minnesota2026Passed Legislature

HF3875

Judiciary Policy Bill: Court Notices and Child Protection Updates

Last scannedAug 22, 2026, 3:39 AM

In one sentence

This bill allows courts to post legal notices online if no local newspaper is available, requires parents in certain family cases involving children to notify authorities about public assistance, extends the time for collecting restitution debts until they are paid or discharged, and updates deadlines and funding dates for a child protection council.

What it does

  • Allows district courts to post required legal notices on the official Minnesota judicial branch website if no qualified local newspaper is likely to give notice in the affected area.
  • Requires petitioners in dissolution cases with children, legal separation with children, parentage determinations, or child custody cases to notify public authorities if either party receives or applies for public assistance.
  • States that court orders requiring offenders to pay victims do not expire until the debt is fully paid or a judge ends it.
  • Changes the deadline for the Supreme Court Council on Child Protection's final report from January 15, 2026, to December 15, 2026.
  • Extends the expiration date of the Supreme Court Council on Child Protection to June 30, 2027.

Who it affects

  • District courts and court administrators who publish legal notices or manage restitution orders.
  • Petitioners in family cases involving children where public assistance is involved.
  • Victims of crimes ordered to receive financial restitution from offenders.
  • The Supreme Court Council on Child Protection.

Limits and unknowns

  • The bill does not require courts to use website posting; they may still choose to publish notices in newspapers.
  • This law only applies to legal proceedings that are already required by statute, rule, or court order to be published through the district court.

Plain language

Terms to know

Qualified newspaper
A local newspaper likely to give notice in the area where a legal event happened or to the people it concerns.
Restitution
Money an offender must pay back to a victim for losses caused by their crime, which can be enforced like a civil judgment.
Docketed as a civil judgment
Recording a court order in official records so it can be enforced similarly to a debt owed between private parties.

Official record

Sources

Validated
Official bill pageIntroduced textOfficial digestCurrent bill textStored full record

Official summary

Judiciary policy bill.

Official activity

Bill history

  1. Presented to Governor 05/06/2026House
  2. Presentment date 05/06/26Senate
  3. Returned from SenateHouse
  4. Special Order: Rule 45 amendment strickenSenate
  5. Comm report: Rule 45-amend, subst. General Orders SF4064Senate
  6. Received from HouseSenate
  7. AmendedHouse
  8. House rule 1.21, placed on Calendar for the Day 04/23/2026House
  9. Committee report, to adopt as amendedHouse
  10. Introduction and first reading, referred to Judiciary Finance and Civil LawHouse