 Dear Neighbors,
I wanted to provide you with an update on how the 2025 legislative session concluded — it was definitely a challenging one, but we successfully passed a balanced budget for the next two years. I’ll plan to do a deeper dive tomorrow morning at Galaxie Library (14955 Galaxie Ave, Apple Valley, MN 55124) at 9:30 a.m. at my community coffee hour and hope to see you there!
Even with a tied House and just a one-seat majority in the Senate, I'm pleased with what we accomplished this session to help make life more affordable for working families across Apple Valley and the state. We also successfully prevented my colleagues on the other side of the aisle from rolling back important programs that have been working well for Minnesotans — things like paid family leave, free school meals, and reproductive freedom protections. Nearly all of our accomplishments from the 2023-2024 session remain intact.
You can find detailed information about the bills that passed during the June 9th special session, including full bill language and budget breakdowns, here.
This budget certainly required some difficult compromises. While legislative compromises inevitably involve trade-offs where no side gets everything they want, the budget deal's removal of adult undocumented Minnesotans from MinnesotaCare—despite preserving access for children—is one of the most cruel, short-sighted, and inhumane decisions I have ever seen made, and I could not support it.
 Photo: House Photography
We will all feel the financial consequences throughout Minnesota's health care system as hospitals and emergency rooms absorb uncompensated emergency care costs, driving up expenses for everyone across metro, suburban, and rural communities alike. Regardless of individual views on immigration policy, I believe in pragmatic approaches that recognize the dignity and health care needs of all hardworking community members while protecting the stability of our health care infrastructure.
My next newsletter will feature provisions within the final health budget, and more good budget items, but in the meantime, you can check out a high-level overview of the accomplishments we secured for Apple Valley, including funds for the Minnesota Zoo, here.
The interim is here, but the work in the community continues! Please always feel free to reach out to us with suggestions, input, or questions. Your feedback lifts up our Apple Valley values at the Capitol.
I hope to see you tomorrow!
Sincerely,
Robert Bierman
State Representative
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