MINNEAPOLIS, June 12, 2025 — The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) applauds the Minnesota legislature’s passage of H.F. 4, which included a provision that has relaxed the state’s previously enacted lead key ban.
Unlock Minnesota Coalition
The MRAA, as part of the Unlock Minnesota Coalition, comprised of Minnesota-based businesses, worked together to shepherd this provision through the legislative process. Read more about our past efforts.
“The MRAA is pleased to see the passage of H.F. 4 as the provision included will provide much needed relief to the entirety of Minnesota’s recreational boating industry,” said Chad Tokowicz, MRAA Government Relations Manager. “The MRAA lauds the work of the Unlock Minnesota Coalition, which played a crucial role in bringing impacted stakeholders together to highlight the widespread disruption the proposed lead key ban would have on various industries throughout Minnesota. The passage of H.F. 4 underscores the Minnesota Legislatures understanding and commitment to supporting Minnesota’s recreational boating industry and the many small businesses which are integral to the fabric of the North Star State’s recreational boating community.”
Minnesota legislators passed a ban in 2023 on consumer products with certain levels of lead and cadmium. It included jewelry, toys, cosmetics, kitchenware and art supplies. The law also included keys, with the ban set to take effect on July 1, 2025. Moreover, many businesses were in a difficult position since workable alternatives are not available or commercially viable at this time.
The Dealer Voice
Keys are traditionally made of brass but include small amounts of lead for strength. Additionally, the recreational boating industry needed additional time to find workable alternatives. Read this op-ed by Dave Briggs, Owner and General Manager of Wayzata Marine. It will help you understand the impact this provision would have had on Minnesota based marine retailers,
“While the impacts of the key issue may be hard to understand for some, as a small business owner, changes like this can stand to have a major impact on my day-to-day operations and ultimately my bottom line,” said Dave Briggs, Owner of Wayzata Marine, an MRAA member. “I appreciate the work done by Unlock Minnesota, the MRAA and the other small business owners like me who stepped up to fight for this change.”
Additionally, the MRAA worked with our Minnesota based members to highlight the impact the ban would have on the recreational boating industry. Moreover, Mike Davin, MRAA Vice President of Industry Relations, spoke on behalf of Minnesota’s recreational boating industry at an Unlock Minnesota event. Held at the Minnesota Capitol. the event raises awareness of the issue among Minnesota legislators and their staff. This event received excellent press coverage, including this video from KARE 11 of Mike Davin making his remarks.
The provision passed in H.F. 4 ultimately delayed implementation of the ban until July 1, 2028. Utlimately, it gives the recreational marine industry, and others, much needed time to research, develop and deploy alternatives that comply with the statute.
MRAA Advocacy Efforts
In summary, this is just one of the many examples of how the MRAA continues to advocate on behalf of our Minnesota members and the recreational boating industry at large.
To stay up to date on MRAA government relations activities, subscribe to our quarterly newsletter here. Have any further questions about the key ban? For instance, ant to know more about MRAA government relations activities or how to get engaged? Email Tokowicz, at Chad@mraa.com.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.
