Session Has Begun: Here Are My 2026 Commitments To You

February 27, 2026

Friends and neighbors,

With the 2026 Legislative Session now underway, I would like to update you on what my top priorities are this year, working on your behalf in St. Paul.

Priority #1: Safeguarding Your Tax Dollars

My number one priority at the State House this year is to pass legislation that will prevent future fraud from occurring, so that we can get back to investing in the education and infrastructure programs that Minnesotans care about and deserve.

A crucial step in this endeavor will be to pass the legislative Office of the Inspector General anti-fraud bill (OIG) into law. Drafted over the past year in a good-faith effort by Republican and Democratic legislators from the House and Senate, this bill will create an independent OIG that will function under the jurisdiction of the legislative, rather than the executive, branch. As it stands, only appointees from the executive branch have the power to prosecute. This creates a perceived conflict-of-interest dilemma, because it may disincentivize investigations into state agencies that also reside under the authority of the executive branch.

Last May, the agreed-upon OIG bill to resolve this dilemma passed through the Senate 60–7, which is a formidable level of bipartisan support. At the outset of this year's Legislative Session, we had no reason to believe that it would be stalled in the House. However, I am concerned to see that House Democrats have recently brought forward amendments to our previously negotiated bill that would both remove the prosecutorial powers of the new OIG, as well as place the new OIG under the authority of the executive branch. The entire objective behind the original legislation was to create an independent auditing agency that Minnesotans could trust to safeguard their tax dollars with no chance of perceived political bias. Unfortunately, the amendments proposed this week would create an agency that does not live up to that intent, and its progress in the House has halted as deliberations continue.

I believe that the people of Minnesota deserve to know with one hundred percent certainty that every last dollar they pay to the state government in taxes is being accounted for and safeguarded in an apolitical manner, and I am willing to work with any legislator of any party or political persuasion to achieve that goal.

Funding Our Schools

I am pleased to report that the budget forecast released this morning paints a stronger economic picture for Minnesota than we had previously predicted. With a surplus of $3.7 billion, $1.7 billion higher than November estimates, we are in a position of relative stability. Nonetheless, our cities and municipalities are facing mounting costs, and property taxes have been rising in an effort to keep up. For example, one of our school districts is projected to experience a $5.5 million funding gap during the 2026–2027 school year.

Minnesotans pay enough in taxes, ranking seventh-highest in the nation for overall tax burden. Rather than forcing our cities and municipalities to raise taxes even further to cover budget shortfalls, I am advocating at the State Capitol for our $3.7 billion surplus to be allocated towards funding our schools.

Especially after witnessing the scale of the fraud that has unfolded over the last several years, it is time we give Minnesota's working families a much-needed tax break.

Bills I Am Putting Forward:

In addition to my focus on fraud and education, I am putting forward a series of other bills this year to help our community and the state at large:

• HF3594 - Fraud prevention measure to require more stringent certification prior to receiving funding from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.

• HF3400 - Will create a new interchange at marked Trunk Highway 36 and Lake Elmo Avenue. Funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.

• HF3399 - Will require the commissioner of natural resources to issue permits for Lake Elmo to construct and operate new municipal water supply wells.

• HF3381 - Will exempt certain purchases of prepared food by nonprofit organizations, so that they can feed more people.

Great Meeting You All

I had the pleasure of meeting with some exceptional student advocates from LeadMN; they shared with me their struggles with college affordability, and their ideas for bringing about solutions and change. LeadMN supports two-year degree programs as a way for students to kickstart their college journey in a more economically efficient manner. I look forward to continuing to advocate on their behalf at the state legislature to advance these programs.

I also got to meet many of you at a packed town hall in Baytown to discuss the possible installation of a new cell tower. It was great to see so much community engagement, as politics is best carried out at the local level.

All of the work that I do at the State House is focused on providing level-headed and practical solutions to problems. I do not engage in inflammatory rhetoric. I do not put forward hyper-partisan bills for attention. I am solely focused on improving the lives of everyday working Minnesotans, because I am one.

Thank you for choosing me to represent our interests.

Representative Wayne Johnson

House District 41A

Serving Lakeland, Afton, Baytown, Cottage Grove, Denmark, Grant, Lake Elmo, Lakeland Shores, Lake Saint Croix Beach, Saint Mary's Point, and West Lakeland. 

Please Contact Me

Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. It's my honor to represent you at our state's capitol, and I always welcome feedback, ideas, or concerns from you and our community. Please send all replies to Rep.Wayne.Johnson@house.mn.gov, or call 651-296-4244, to ensure I get your message. Replies directly to the newsletter do not reach my inbox.

/RepWayneJohnson

2nd Floor Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar Street
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.4244