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Dear neighbors,
The Minnesota House is back in session today following last week’s Easter/Passover break. With most of our major committee work behind us, action now shifts to the House Floor as we work to pass major budget bills and then head into final negotiations with the Senate and the Governor.
With a 67-67 tied House, any budget bill passing on the House Floor must have bipartisan support. Committee co-chairs have been working together to ensure this is the case, and I expect that the House Agriculture budget, which I negotiated alongside Republican co-chair Paul Anderson, will be one of the first budgets to pass this week.
I’m also looking forward to celebrating Arbor Day this Friday and continuing my longstanding tradition of distributing tree saplings to my colleagues in the House and honoring the role trees have in our environment. That distribution will take place during Thursday or Friday’s House Floor session.
Last week, I was honored to participate in the 2025 Harkin On Wellness Symposium at Drake University’s Public Policy Institute. This year’s symposium focused on the Future of Clean Water, and I gave a speech about my experiences in the Minnesota Legislature as an Environment and Agriculture Chair, fighting against Big Ag to ensure residents have sustainable, clean water. I talked about the progress we have made here in Minnesota, but also how corporations will always have the money and the lobbyists to try to repeal that progress.
As legislators, our power doesn’t come from lobbyists or money, it comes from the people. The everyday engagement of individual constituents and communities is the reason why we’ve made progress in protecting clean drinking water for future generations. You can watch my speech here and read more in this Bluestem Prairie article.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 22, at 5:00 pm, you can join neighbors for a South St. Paul Mississippi Riverbank clean-up to celebrate Earth Day! Stop by the Spiral Bridge (Grand & Hardman Avenues) starting at 5:00 PM to sign in. City staff will have gloves, garbage bags, and recycling bags ready for you. Questions? Contact Deb Griffith at [email protected] or 651-554-3230.
In 2023, DFLers passed the largest-ever investment in our environment and natural resources, including improving our world-class state park system. Check out this Star Tribune article to learn more about how we’re strengthening the outdoor experience all around our state.
Please continue to share your questions, ideas, and feedback throughout the year. You can reach me by email at [email protected] or by phone at 651-296-6828.
For more regular updates, you can subscribe to these regular legislative updates if you haven’t already, here, and you can also “like” and follow my official State Representative Facebook page.
Sincerely,
Rick Hansen
State Representative
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