Only in Minnesota: Your keys will soon be illegal

I’m considering opening a lock and key business in Hudson, Wisconsin this summer. Because unless the Minnesota legislature acts, almost all keys and key fobs will be illegal beginning July 1, 2025. I would call it an unintended consequence of the frenzied and off-the-cliff 2023 session, but neither the DFL author nor Tim Walz’s pollution control bureaucracy is interested in fixing the problem.

Most keys are made of brass, and brass contains a trace amount of lead, which improves performance, prevents corrosion and makes keys easier to machine-cut. But that trace amount of lead in keys was not exempted from a new Erin Brockovich-style law banning PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as “forever chemicals.” Minnesota now has the most stringent PFAS law IN THE WORLD, surpassing European socialists and Gavin Newsom’s California.

With only two weeks left in session, Democrats and the Walz administration do not appear interested in fixing this legislative oversight by simply exempting keys from the law. The House author, Rep. Rick Hansen, told Axios the state needs to reduce exposure to “dangerous elements like lead and cadmium.” “As parents know, kids put keys in their mouth,” he said. The Minnesota Pollution Control Administration testified in committee that they are working on alternatives to traditional keys and fobs but couldn’t identify any when asked.

In the Senate, Sen. Grant Hauschild, a Democrat who eagerly voted for the original bill and championed its passage, is now trying to exempt keys from the regulations. Our hero!

This is a common problem at the Minnesota legislature. Democrats pass laws based on emotion and empathy that either don’t work, are declared unconstitutional, or are fraught with unintended consequences. They then rely on Republicans to dutifully offer a legislative fix in the next session. That fix becomes part of the Republican agenda and must be “traded” for other policy or finance provisions at the end of session. We can hear Gov. Walz negotiating: “Ok, we’ll give you your key fix, but in return, we want a tax increase.”

Republican legislators should not help Democrats fix their key problem this year. None of them voted for the original bill. Democrats need to own the problem and the solution, or explain to Minnesotans why they can’t get their boat key duplicated at Ace Hardware this summer.