Dear Neighbor,
I highlighted the best parts of the 2026 session in last week’s newsletter, but I don’t want to gloss over what we missed.
The biggest miss this session was Harvey’s Law, legislation I authored to improve safety and accountability at childcare centers receiving tax dollars. The bill was named after Harvey Muklebust, who lost his life just before turning one at a childcare center. His life could have been saved had there been cameras present. Unfortunately, Harvey’s Law was blocked at every turn this session.
Somehow, like everything else in life, it seems, Harvey’s Law became a partisan issue. It totally baffles me. I assumed I would have difficulty with Republicans supporting new regulations more than anything. However, days after signing onto Harvey’s Law, the sole DFL co-author in the House had his name stricken from the bill. In the Senate, the bill still has bipartisan authorship but it didn’t receive a hearing.
As I’ve mentioned before, I never gave much thought to cameras in childcare centers. Like most parents, I assumed my daughter was safe when I dropped her off at daycare. That changed when we learned my daughter was among several infants abused by two individuals entrusted with their care. Without cameras in that infant room, the perpetrators likely would have faced no greater consequence than losing their jobs and may have continued working with children elsewhere. Thankfully, both have been convicted on felony malicious punishment of a child under four, but they only will spend 58 days and 28 days in jail respectively.
Last session, I got a small provision passed into law that required centers with active maltreatment violations to have cameras in their infant and toddler rooms. That goes into effect July 1. I was going to wait to pursue additional legislation until I heard Harvey’s story. In April, Theah Loudemia Russell was indicted on four counts related to Harvey’s death, including first-degree murder.
If video footage had been available, Harvey’s life may have been saved. Another infant at the same childcare center suffered a similar ‘medical emergency’ just three days earlier. If they could’ve reviewed footage they would’ve caught the perpetrator before they could harm another infant.
Harvey’s story makes clear this issue cannot wait and waiting for a center to get a maltreatment violation is too late.
This is not about distrusting childcare providers. The overwhelming majority are caring, dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to keep children safe. In many cases, cameras would likely protect and exonerate childcare workers more than anything else. Cameras are already common in many classrooms, and nearly every center has surveillance on the exterior of its building. I will continue working on this issue when we return to the Capitol in 2027. I will be looking to advance Harvey’s Law with the bipartisan support it warrants and deserves.
On a different note, the other big miss this session was on tax relief. The tab fee relief and property tax refund were good, but temporary. Tab fees were increased by 30% on average under one-party rule in 2023. We undid that increase, but only for a single year. The same goes for property taxes. You will see a larger refund on your homestead if you make less than $142,490. However, that too is only for one year.
Everyone’s budget is getting crunched. Temporary changes are just that, temporary. We need permanent relief so Minnesotans can get back to having affordable lives.
Sincerely,
Nolan