A new Minnesota bill filed today would double the amount of marijuana that licensed microbusinesses can grow outdoors, a change that could give smaller operators more room to expand production as the state’s regulated market continues to take shape.

Filed as SF 4876 by Senator Lindsey Port (D), the measure was introduced and given its first reading today before being referred to the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

The proposal is narrow in scope, but significant for Minnesota’s smaller marijuana businesses. Under current law, a cannabis microbusiness growing outdoors may cultivate up to one-half acre of mature, flowering plants. SF 4876 would increase that limit to one full acre.

The bill would not change the current indoor cultivation limit for microbusinesses, which remains capped at 5,000 square feet of plant canopy. It also would leave in place existing authority for the Office of Cannabis Management to adjust cultivation limits based on market demand, although the agency could not set the limit below the new one-acre floor for outdoor grows if the bill becomes law.

The legislation does not make broader changes to Minnesota’s marijuana law. Instead, it focuses specifically on expanding outdoor cultivation capacity for cannabis microbusinesses, a license category created to allow smaller, more localized operators to participate in the legal market.

If approved, the change could make it easier for microbusinesses that rely on outdoor cultivation to increase supply without moving into a larger license category. For now, SF 4876 awaits consideration in the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.