Legislative Update – May 9, 2025Dear Neighbors, We are entering the final phase of the legislative session, as we negotiate budget bills with the Senate and the Governor to fund our state budget for the next two years. Due to the current reality of a 67-67 tied House, many of these bills include provisions I support and provisions I don’t agree with. However, we must compromise to pass a state budget, and I am continuing to have conversations with my colleagues to improve these budget bills in the final week of session. However, only so much of that work can be done without an agreement from legislative leaders on joint budget targets, which will decide how much each budget can invest (or need to reduce in spending). Eventually, all of these budget negotiations will come to a standstill until we know our final targets. With session ending soon, we need an agreement as soon as possible, but Republicans would rather play political games with the health care of our neighbors and the benefits of the working Minnesotans who help our schools run. Minnesota is already grappling with an uncertain economic future thanks to the actions of the Trump administration, and Republicans in the legislature would make it worse by kneecapping progress and cutting services while the wealthy and well-connected get richer. There’s still time to come together and pass a meaningful budget for Minnesota, but that time is not infinite. There’s only one other Friday left in the legislative session, so now would be a good time for Republicans to prioritize a budget, not partisanship.  Children and Families Committee BudgetThis session, I was proud to serve as the DFL Vice Chair of the House Children and Families Committee. I worked alongside my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to negotiate our budget bill, which is being merged with the Health budget and will be taken up next week. DFLers are fighting to ensure that Minnesota is the best state in the country to raise a family. Right now, far too many Minnesotans are struggling, especially when it comes to childcare costs. While Minnesota’s Child Tax Credit is helping working families who need support, we still have a lot of work to do. Our budget includes my legislation continuing support for foster youth, giving them the tools they need to advocate for themselves, and my bill on relative kinship licensing support. It also includes my bill helping Minnesotans escape poverty by funding FAIM, and my bill improving the Social Service Information System, which is a significant investment that will save our counties hundreds of hours in work time a year by modernizing this critical tool.  Budget Bill UpdateAs I mentioned above, we have been passing budget bills on the House floor, and I’m proud to say that many of these bills include provisions I’ve authored and am fighting to have included in the final version. In addition to the bills mentioned below, I have provisions in the House Tax bill we will take up next week to give new parents a “baby bonus” on top of the child and working family tax credit, and a provision to get rid of an outdated stamp tax. I’ll also serve on the Cannabis Conference Committee, and I’m looking forward to digging into the details and fighting for a fair cannabis industry. Here’s a recap of my votes so far: - I voted in favor of the House Agriculture Budget that invests in Farm to School Programs, worker protections for bird flu, and supports new farmers with down payment assistance.
- I voted in favor of the House Higher Education Budget that makes it easier for Minnesotans to pursue higher education and protects the North Star Promise program. I’m glad to report that the bill includes my provision improving campus response and prevention of sexual assault. However, I am deeply concerned by Republicans cutting of funding for student parent support programs, which were a huge part of why I was able to graduate as a single mom. Instead, Republicans chose to prioritize for-profit colleges. I will continue working with DFLers to revive this funding in the final version.
- I voted in favor of the House Housing Budget that invests in building new affordable housing, provides rental assistance to those who need it most, and continues to take on our housing shortage.
- I voted against the House Transportation Budget because the legislation gutted corridor of commerce funding, which directly impacts our District as a critical corridor of commerce. Republicans also insisted on rolling back key provisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our transportation sector and cut funding for transit, walking, and biking infrastructure that our neighbors rely on every day.
- I voted in favor of the House Commerce Budget that provides stronger consumer oversight, tackles rising homeowners’ insurance, and improves experiences for those living in HOAs.
- I voted against the House Veterans Budget because it guts 85% of the funding we put towards critical veterans’ homelessness prevention. Minnesota has been incredibly successful in curbing vets homelessness, but that does not mean we can take our foot off the gas. As a member of a military family, it was hard to vote against this bill, but I could not support the proposed cuts. I hope this bill improves in conference committee and we get our veterans the support they deserve.
- I voted in favor of the House Public Safety & Judiciary Budget that improves and supports victim services, police training, and privacy protections for judges. I also supported our Public Safety Policy bill, which includes my provision to strengthen requirements for prescription medication access in our correctional facilities.
- I voted in favor of the House Legacy Bill that uses our lottery proceeds wisely to enhance our environment, protect our clean water, expand parks and trails, and celebrate arts, culture, and history.
- I voted in favor of the House State Government and Elections Budget that preserves key services, invests in the Attorney General’s capacity to fight consumer and Medicaid fraud, and supports state workers.
- I voted in favor of the House Human Services Budget that works to preserve key services that Minnesotans rely on. I’m frustrated with the cuts included in this bill, and Republicans' refusal to raise taxes on millionaires to make up for the huge federal cuts coming down from D.C. My provision to help more people stay on disability waivers when facing denials was included and will be a critical parachute during this uncertain time.
- I voted in favor of the House Environment and Natural Resources Budget that protects the progress we made last session in ensuring clean air, water, and soil for future generations.
- I voted in favor of the House Energy Budget that continues our work promoting proven clean energy sources, lowering energy costs for families, creating high-paying clean energy jobs, and building a more resilient energy system.
- I voted in favor of the House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Budget, because it protected landmark worker protections and programs like Paid Leave from Republican attacks. However, I’m disappointed that Republicans rejected my floor amendment to abolish the subminimum wage for our disabled neighbors. This exploitative practice must be ended in our state, and I’ll continue fighting for this in the future.
As I stated above, I’m committed to working to improve these bills in these last days of session so that we pass a budget that actually improves the lives of Minnesotans in our district and across the state.  |