Who Came Up With Minnesota’s Permanent School Fund Amendment?

The Permanent School Fund amendment didn't begin with MASA, a school district or a political campaign.

It grew out of a nine-member task force created by the Minnesota Legislature in 2024 to examine how the Permanent School Fund distributes its earnings and whether Minnesota's approach should be updated.

The Legislature specifically directed the Task Force to study the fund's historical returns, evaluate potential changes to the distribution of earnings, consider approaches used in other states and recommend potential statutory or constitutional changes.

Who was on the Task Force?

The Legislature required appointed members to have professional experience in areas such as institutional asset management, investment finance, trust administration, fund accounting, investment banking, or law involving trusts, foundations and endowments.

The nine-member group included:

• a representative of the Minnesota Department of Education;
• an appointee of the Minnesota State Board of Investment;
• four members appointed by the governor; and
• three members appointed by the Legislative Permanent School Fund Commission.

This wasn't a group created to campaign for a ballot question. Its job was to examine the financial structure of the Permanent School Fund and make recommendations to the Legislature.

What did they recommend?

After studying Minnesota's existing system, historical investment performance, practices used by other endowments and financial modeling, the Task Force unanimously recommended modernizing the distribution model.

Its recommendations included distributing 4.5% of the fund's three-year rolling average value, while establishing broader constitutional principles intended to maintain the Permanent School Fund as a perpetual financial resource, preserve its purchasing power over time and balance the needs of current and future beneficiaries.

The Task Force also recommended putting the specific distribution mechanics in state law rather than the Constitution, allowing future Legislatures to adjust the policy while remaining subject to those broader constitutional principles.

How did it get on the ballot?

The Task Force couldn't amend Minnesota's Constitution itself. Its recommendations first had to go through the Minnesota Legislature.

The resulting legislation was sponsored by Republican Rep. Spencer Igo in the House and DFL Sen. Mary Kunesh in the Senate. It received bipartisan support in the Minnesota Legislature, including unanimous support from the Minnesota House of Representatives.

With legislative approval, the proposed constitutional amendment was placed on the November 2026 ballot. Minnesota voters now make the final decision on whether the Constitution is changed.

From study to the ballot

So, who came up with the proposal?

It began with a legislatively created, nine-member expert task force charged with studying the Permanent School Fund. That group unanimously recommended changes to the fund's distribution model. Those recommendations then went through the legislative process, receiving bipartisan support—including unanimous support in the Minnesota House—before the constitutional question was placed before Minnesota voters.

Students First. Improve the Trust.

Learn more about Minnesota's Permanent School Fund amendment at mnpsfamendment.org.