Legislative Update – May 13, 2026
Dear neighbors,
We are in the home stretch of the 2026 Legislative Session, which must complete its business by our constitutionally required deadline of midnight on Sunday, May 17.
This week was the last week for my intern, Luke, a sophomore at Macalester College who’s heading back home to Decorah, Iowa, for the summer. Luke joined my office this session through the House Undergraduate Internship Program. He got to see the legislative process firsthand while doing policy coursework and learning about potential careers in public service.
Thank you for all your work, Luke, and good luck on the path ahead!
Session Update
In the past couple of days, we’ve passed some good, bipartisan legislation as we continue to find progress and compromise in a tied House.
Our bill to create an independent Office of the Inspector General has now officially passed in both the House and Senate and is on its way to the Governor. The OIG’s office is one piece of our multi-part agenda to stop and prevent fraud in our state — but it's a big part, and I’ll continue to use the expertise I’ve gained from serving on the Legislative Audit Commission to guide our work on fraud going forward.
Another bill we passed adds guardrails and restrictions to social media to protect younger users online. This is something we’ve heard about not just from experts and parents, but from young people as well. This bill doesn’t ban younger users, but it requires parental approval and bans addictive features and paid ads from being used on our kids. The bill passed 132-2.
We also passed a public safety package that included important bills that would aid victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, and a provision that would add certain cancers and infectious diseases to the conditions that qualify as duty-related deaths for peace officers and firefighters. I was proud to vote Yes on this bill package.
Local Events
The 18th annual “Stride for Packer Pride” 5K and Fun Run is coming up May 16, 2026. The event starts at 9:00 am at Central Square. The Stride for Packer Pride raises money in honor of Ken and Mary Schultz to help students participate in extra-curricular activities. Learn more here.
The South. St. Paul Garden Club is holding its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 16 from 8am – 4pm at 1900 Burma Lane. Proceeds help send kindergartners to the Dodge Nature Center, and gardener’s will be on hand to answer any questions you have about planting!
Stay in Touch!
Please continue to share your questions, ideas, and feedback throughout the year. You can reach me by email at rep.rick.hansen@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651-296-6828.
For more regular updates, you can subscribe to these regular legislative updates if you haven’t already, here, and you can also “like” and follow my official State Representative Facebook page.
Sincerely,
Rick Hansen
State Representative