Legislative Update – May 9, 2025
Dear Neighbors,
Today I was in-studio for my weekly radio appearance on KYMN where I talked about the budget process between the House, Senate, and the Governor to keep the state government running on our final budget bills. These negotiations are done in conference committees, and I am on the Environment Conference Committee, which met afternoon. You can listen to my interview here.
However, these budget negotiations will come to a standstill until we know our final budget targets. With the 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.
There’s still time to come together and pass a meaningful budget for Minnesota, but that time is not infinite. With only one other Friday left in the legislative session, now would be a good time for Republicans to prioritize a budget, not partisanship.
This week, I was glad to meet with students from New Prague High School who were visiting the State Capitol in Saint Paul and meet a high school page from District 58A!
I also participated in the presentation of a bipartisan House Resolution to the Director General from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECO) in Chicago! I am a believer in strengthening democracy at home and abroad and we can do that through trade and cultural exchanges between Minnesota and Taiwan.
Fighting for Health Care Access
DFLers have been fighting for a Health Budget that protects Minnesotans, lowers costs, and increases access. Unfortunately, Republicans have been pushing a rollback of legislation that expands access to MinnesotaCare to our undocumented neighbors. I spoke in the Health Committee this week about the importance of ensuring ALL our constituents can live healthy and dignified lives.
As my GOP colleague said himself, we need to do more than math when it comes to healthcare. The reality is that funding insurance coverage and preventative care is the right thing to do, morally and economically. I’ll continue to support MinnesotaCare because it was a lifeline to my family, and it should be available to all who need it.
You can watch my comments here.
Protecting our Environmental Progress
As I mentioned above, I’m proud to be serving on the Environment and Natural Resources Conference Committee as the DFL vice-chair of the House. This Monday, we passed our Environment Budget bill on a bipartisan vote, which was a “lights on” budget with no new spending, but keeps the DNR, MPCA, BWSR and the Minnesota Zoo operational.
This year, Republicans used their time on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee to hear legislation that would roll back the hard-fought progress we made in 2023 and 2024 to protect our environment. DFLers united to block those provisions from moving forward this year.
Our budget bill maintains our protection of Minnesotans’ land, water, and air from threats like PFAS, nitrates, and aquatic invasive species. While the bill didn’t make the new investments that I would have liked, or new policy when it comes especially to protecting our water, it is a big win for Minnesotans that we stopped the worst of the GOP’s priorities from becoming reality.
Graduation Rates Reach All-Time High
Graduation rates have reached a historic high! When we invest in our kids, we see results. Minnesota still has a long way to go to return to our nation-leading education outcomes, but this is an encouraging start. I'll continue to invest in our youth and public education. Let's keep up this good progress and high school seniors in the district can look forward to hearing from me on this important life milestone!
Stay Connected!
Unfortunately, due to technological constraints, replies to this newsletter won’t reach my email account. To share your input or ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance, please feel free to reach out at rep.kristi.pursell@house.mn.gov or call my office 651-296-0171, and I will be happy to help.
You can also follow my Official Facebook Page here. If you were forwarded this email and you’d like to subscribe, click here. If you have a friend or neighbor who would be interested in receiving these, please forward this and encourage them to subscribe!