Minnesota Agencies

Issues tax exempt revenue bonds for capital improvements at nonprofit private postsecondary educational institutions in Minnesota. The authority shall keep an accurate account of all of its activities and all of its receipts and expenditures. Each year, the authority shall submit to the Minnesota Historical Society and the Legislative Reference Library a report of the authority's activities in the previous year, including all financial activities.

According to the MHEFA website, the authority "was formed by the Minnesota Legislature in 1971. The purpose of the Authority is to assist Minnesota based institutions of higher education in the construction, financing and refinancing of capital projects... The Authority may have up to $1.3 billion of bonds or notes outstanding at any time. The Authority receives no state funding of any kind. It does not have any taxing power and does not receive any allocation of tax receipts from the state of Minnesota. Authority operations are funded 100% from fees charged to borrowers and investment earnings."

In 2025, the Legislature changed the name of the authority to the Minnesota Health and Education Facilities Authority (Laws of Minn. 2025, 1st Sp. Sess., chap. 3, art. 7, sec. 3) along with other changes to the authority's structure and duties.

The Minnesota Health and Education Facilities Authority shall consist of nine members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate, and a representative of the Office of Higher Education.

All members to be appointed by the governor shall be residents of the state. At least two members must reside outside the metropolitan area as defined in section 473.121, subdivision 2. At least one of the members shall be a person having a favorable reputation for skill, knowledge, and experience in the field of state and municipal finance; at least one of the members shall be a person having a favorable reputation for skill, knowledge, and experience in the building construction field; at least one of the members shall be a trustee, director, officer, or employee of an institution of higher education; and at least one of the members shall be a trustee, director, officer, or employee of a health care organization.

The president of the Minnesota Private College Council, or the president's designee, shall serve without compensation as an advisory, nonvoting member of the authority. The chief executive officer of a Minnesota nonprofit health care association whose members are primarily nonprofit health care organizations, or the chief executive officer's designee, shall serve without compensation as an advisory, nonvoting member of the authority. The identity of the Minnesota nonprofit health care association shall be determined and may be changed from time to time by the members of the authority in accordance with and as provided in the bylaws of the authority.