St. Paul, Minnesota — Minnesota candidates, political donors, and lobbyists will no longer have their home addresses publicly displayed in campaign finance records after Gov. Tim Walz signed bipartisan legislation aimed at increasing privacy protections amid rising political violence concerns.
The new law, H.F. 4239, passed overwhelmingly in both chambers of the state legislature, clearing the Senate in a 46-21 vote and the House 118-15. The measure immediately requires the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board to redact home addresses from both future and previously filed public campaign finance and lobbying disclosures.
Supporters of the legislation pointed to the 2025 killing of former Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, as a major catalyst for the changes. Authorities also alleged the same gunman targeted state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife at their home, though both survived the attack.
Rep. Mike Freiberg, a Democrat from Golden Valley and sponsor of the legislation, argued that publicly accessible home addresses had become a growing security risk in an increasingly hostile political climate.
Privacy advocacy group People United for Privacy Foundation also backed the legislation. CEO Heather Lauer said privacy laws must adapt as political violence and online doxing concerns increase in the digital era.
Minnesota becomes the third state this year to enact similar protections following comparable laws passed in West Virginia and Utah. California, Texas, and Wyoming already do not require public disclosure of donor home addresses in campaign finance filings.
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