Legislative Update: Special Session Recap
On Monday, the Minnesota House returned to Saint Paul for a special session to complete work on the state budget and other outstanding legislation. Over the course of a single day, we debated and passed 14 bills off the floor. 12 of which were big, wide-ranging omnibus packages, and although not perfect, many of them reflect real progress and meaningful reforms. Here is an overview of what passed, in the order we debated them:
MinnesotaCare
The first bill we passed repeals taxpayer-funded health care for undocumented adults under the MinnesotaCare program. Anyone under the age of 18 may still qualify for this discounted -premium plan.
Health Bill
We passed a strong Health Bill that protects patients, preserves rural care, and prevents costly new taxes on Minnesota’s healthcare system. This legislation secures critical funding for hospitals, pharmacies, and EMS, especially in Greater Minnesota, while pushing back on proposals that would have driven up costs for providers and patients alike.
Human Services Bill
We passed meaningful reforms to strengthen oversight and ensure taxpayer dollars are used responsibly. This bill reflects practical, people-focused solutions that support the Minnesotans who rely on these services while making sure government programs are accountable and effective.
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Rejected a $400 million cost shift to counties for delivering human services.
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Adopted a new anti-fraud policy to prevent abuse and ensure dollars are going where they’re truly needed.
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Required autism service providers to be licensed and mandated background checks and compliance training for Housing Stabilization providers before enrollment.
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Secured $52 million in funding to help nursing homes manage regulatory changes, with new safeguards requiring that any new rules be paid for up front.
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Invested in substance use disorder treatment programs and expanded housing supports.
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Avoided service waitlists and upheld access to essential care across the state.
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Reduced future spending by cutting $1.1 billion of projected increases in the Medicaid Program, particularly in nursing homes and disability services.
Environment Bill
We passed long-overdue permitting reform to reduce delays and help Minnesota businesses grow while preserving environmental protections. The bill also includes funding for trail maintenance, conservation work, and support for outdoor recreation.
Workforce & Labor Bill
This bill makes modest improvements to the Earned Sick and Safe Time law, slightly reduces the Paid Family and Medical Leave tax rate, and adds oversight to prevent fraud. Additional provisions address non-compete agreements and clarify rules for telecommunications installers. While helpful, it’s clear more work will be needed next session to address small business concerns.
Tax Bill
We successfully blocked over $8 billion in proposed tax increases, protecting Minnesota families and job creators. The bill also safeguards Local Government Aid (LGA), County Program Aid (CPA), and Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT), helping local governments hold the line on property taxes and maintain essential services.
Education Policy Bill
This bill protects nonpublic pupil aid, ensuring continued support for homeschool, religious, and charter school students. It also enacts the Science of Reading as Minnesota’s official literacy standard, bringing meaningful reform to how reading is taught.
Transportation Finance Bill
This bill prioritizes practical infrastructure investments by fully funding state road construction and maintenance. It prevents cuts to the State Patrol, blocks expansion of the electric bike rebate program, and scales back spending on inefficient transit lines like the Blue Line.
Bonding: GO and Cash Bills
This year’s bonding package invests in essential infrastructure, including $206 million for clean water and drinking water projects and $86.5 million for roads and bridges, delivering meaningful support to Greater Minnesota. The bill excluded local projects, keeping the focus on the state’s core infrastructure needs.
Data Center Bill
This bill strengthens oversight of large-scale data centers by creating a new “Very Large Customer” class under the Public Utilities Commission and requiring high-water-use facilities to provide early notice to the DNR. It also imposes a fee to support the Energy and Conservation Account and extends the IT sales tax exemption to 35 years.
Energy Bill
This year’s energy bill holds the line against unaffordable and unrealistic mandates by rejecting new proposals. Instead, it delivers practical policy wins like securitization, which helps lower costs for consumers, and expanded capacity for liquefied natural gas storage, supporting reliability and affordability in our energy system.
Higher Education Finance Bill
This bill responsibly addresses a $239 million shortfall in the State Grant Program while ensuring stability of essential services for students. It doubles funding for the under-supported Fostering Independent Grant program, which helps foster youth access higher education. Other provisions include full-ride scholarships at Minnesota State for peace officers injured in the line of duty and their children, the elimination of unused cannabis training funds, and the removal of state funding for highly profitable institutions that can self-fund programs at their own expense.
Special Session in the Books
While this special session brought a long day of debate and decision-making, the results reflect meaningful progress across a wide range of priorities. From healthcare and education to infrastructure, human services, and tax relief, we focused on delivering practical solutions that respect taxpayers, protect the vulnerable, and strengthen communities across Minnesota.
If you dig deeper into any of the bills I just highlighted, you’ll find more good and plenty of bad provisions in each. Given that this session was met with a tied House, multiple special elections, and a looming $6 billion budget deficit, no one is completely happy with how things turned out. It can be said that there was plenty of compromise from both parties to get it done.
Thank you for the continued trust you place in me to represent Southwest Minnesota. I’ll keep working to bring accountability, balance, and common sense to St. Paul.
Have a great week,
Joe
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