October 19–25, 2026
A quiet week for passed legislation with no local or state action, but one federal law now gives clergy a rare chance to rejoin Social Security.
A quiet week overall, with no Olmsted County Board action and no Minnesota state bills crossing the finish line. Three federal measures wrapped up, and only one of them has much relevance here.
For clergy and religious workers. The one passed bill worth noting if you live here: Congress gave ordained ministers, nuns, and Christian Science practitioners a two-year window to undo a decision many made decades ago. Under a longstanding rule, clergy could opt out of Social Security and Medicare taxes entirely, on religious or conscience grounds, and that choice was permanent. It no longer is. HR 227 is now law, and anyone who opted out can revoke that exemption during the two-year window, start paying into the system going forward, and become eligible for retirement and Medicare benefits. If you or someone in your household took that exemption years ago and has since had second thoughts about retirement coverage, this is the opening to act on it.
The other two bills signed this week dealt with a federal land sale affecting a specific parcel in Sacramento, California, and a satellite-based emergency alert option that carriers may or may not adopt. Neither changes anything in Olmsted County right now.
Coming up next week:
San Francisco Bay restoration. HR 1382 would expand federal funding for cleanup work around San Francisco Bay, a regional environmental effort with no direct connection to Olmsted County. It cleared committee and is headed toward a House floor vote, but no firm date is set for that vote.
---
This has been a genuinely thin week for legislation affecting Olmsted County residents. Watch this space as the Minnesota legislative session calendar and the county board agenda fill in.
See what's up for a vote now · Find your representatives