Legislative UpdateDear neighbors,? It has been another busy week here at the Capitol. We’re nearing budget deadlines – and this week was focused on that. As of now, this is the shape of our Caucus budget targets. After negotiations, an agreement was struck that delivers the largest spending cut in state history, cutting $4 billion now and $1.2 billion in 2026-27. This is a significant first step in bringing some balance to Minnesota government after the spending spree that occurred last session. Also, that initial agreement also includes no new taxes. Many things can change in the coming weeks, but this initial agreement is a good one – which allows Minnesotans to have a reprieve from new taxes and spending. The work is not done, but this is a good start! On Tuesday, we also had a townhall meeting at Tailgaters in North Branch. It was a productive conversation with the community – and I heard a number of concerns from citizens around Chisago County. We’ll have a few more this year, so please stay tuned to these emails for updates.  While there is an initial framework for a budget, I still have concerns about how far apart we are on negotiations for how to use the money and what policies should be enacted this session. I’ve heard a lot of feedback from both public and non-public schools in our district about cutting staff, teachers, and critical services. Just as one example: In Education Finance Rep. Andrew Meyers introduced a bill that would allow funding that has been going to free school lunch for families who are making over $150,000 per household, to go to other funding needs for schools and teacher pensions. I was in full support of this bill, as it would free up districts to better utilize some of that money to benefit students. It was met with uniform opposition from the DFL in the committee and will likely not pass. We need to continue to think of creative solutions which allow our districts to utilize money how they see fit, instead of top-down mandates which lock up dollars in bureaucracy and paperwork. Some bill highlights for this week: - A state bonding project to help repair a sewer line in Taylors Falls. This will likely be heard in committee this coming week.
- A bill that would create better oversight to make it harder for non-profits to post bail for violent criminals. For example, several prominent politicians and celebrities donated to the MN Freedom Fund which bailed out several people during the Minneapolis riots, who went on to recommit violent crimes. This bill would create a higher threshold for bond amounts and oversight of such programs.
- The Intellectual Freedom Protection Act, which prohibits public colleges in Minnesota from requiring or considering statements of personal belief or support for political ideologies—including those on diversity, equity, inclusion, or patriotism—as conditions for admission, hiring, or promotion. You should not be barred from a public college or employment of a public college because of your political beliefs.
You can start to feel this Session winding down. There’s a lot of “hurry up and wait” in St. Paul. As committees finish up their business and negotiations intensify, I’ll certainly have more to report! Thank you for your engagement. It’s an honor to serve Chisago County at the legislature. |