Budget, Policy, and Progress: A Session Review
By State Representative Ben Davis
The 2025 legislative session should have ended on May 19th with a completed state budget and the people’s work finished. Instead, after weeks of delay and dysfunction, we needed a special session just to cross the finish line—22 days later.
Let’s be honest about how we got here.
For the first 23 days of session, half the House refused to show up. Their absence stemmed from a partisan power struggle over a candidate who didn’t even live in the district he ran to represent. Despite this, those same lawmakers still collected taxpayer-funded paychecks, while Minnesotans waited for progress.
This delay pushed us into overtime, and taxpayers are footing the bill. It’s a frustrating and unnecessary outcome that shows just how important it is for legislators to show up ready to work from day one.
This year’s budget negotiations were shaped by the consequences of past decisions. In the last biennium, Democrats increased state spending by nearly 40%—ballooning the budget from $52 billion to $72 billion—and raised taxes by $10 billion. This reckless growth pushed our state toward a projected $6 billion structural deficit.
I opposed those increases then, and I still do now. This session, Republicans fought to rein in that runaway spending. We successfully secured the largest reduction to government spending in state history. But in my view, we still didn’t cut deeply enough. Too many in St. Paul remain far too comfortable spending other people’s money.
One of the most important victories was the repeal of taxpayer-funded health coverage for adult illegal immigrants. Beginning January 1, 2026, those benefits will be phased out. While I believe this program should end immediately, this change is a major step toward fiscal responsibility. Emergency care remains available to all, and private insurance is still an option. But asking Minnesota taxpayers to subsidize free care for those here illegally is simply wrong.
Education policy also revealed a troubling shift in priorities. Democrats pushed through a bill that added $17 million to the Department of Education while cutting more than $70 million from our schools. They rejected meaningful mandate relief and blocked legislation to protect girls’ sports—defeated by a single vote. We all saw the headlines about a male athlete dominating the girls’ softball championship. That’s not progress. That’s unfair. And I’ll continue fighting to protect students, parents, and girls’ athletic opportunities.
That said, there were some important wins. We preserved nonpublic pupil aid, supporting homeschool, religious, and charter school families. And we made long-overdue progress by adopting the Science of Reading as Minnesota’s official literacy standard—a crucial step toward helping our kids succeed.
Perhaps the achievement I’m most proud of is a new law I authored: House File 2. This bill requires state agency employees to promptly report suspected fraud—replacing the weak language that previously only “encouraged” reporting. We also secured stronger whistleblower protections for those who come forward. These reforms are long overdue. Minnesotans have watched in disbelief as scandals like the Feeding Our Future scheme defrauded taxpayers of hundreds of millions of dollars. Interim U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson recently said the total cost is likely close to $500 million. That's half a billion dollars diverted from hardworking Minnesota families to line the pockets of scammers.
These same fraudsters were welcomed into the Attorney General’s office and even pledged campaign donations. Yet to this day, Keith Ellison has failed to fully account for his actions. I intend to keep pressing for answers, because I believe accountability in government isn’t optional.
The 2025 legislative session may be over, but my work isn’t. I’ll be spending the coming months meeting with constituents, listening to your concerns, and preparing for the challenges ahead. Minnesota families deserve better than partisan gridlock and misplaced priorities. They deserve transparency, fiscal responsibility, and leadership that prioritizes Minnesotans over political agendas.
That’s what I’ll keep fighting for.
Ben Davis
State Representative, District 6A