Legislative Update - The Halfway Point

Dear Neighbors, 

Legislators returned to the State Capitol this week after our Easter and Passover break, which also serves as the halfway point of the legislative session and a time for my colleagues and I to head back to our communities before diving into these crucial final weeks of work.

Every Minnesotan deserves to know where their representative stands on the issues the vast majority of us care about, the safety of our kids and communities being chief among them. Before we left for our legislative break, my House DFL colleagues and I forced a vote on some of these issues.

"Political Theater"

One after another, that is what Republican legislators said about our attempt to bring up a vote on bills to ban the weapons of war that are the weapons of choice in virtually every mass shooting. To this, I leave the words of Mike Moyski, whose daughter, Harper, was murdered along with her classmate Fletcher at Annunciation:

“Before you accuse our stories of being political theater, I want you to recognize that actors and stage crew get to go home at night to their lives. We go home at night to an empty room and an empty chair at our kitchen table.”

The bills failed along a party-line vote. Not a single Republican voted for the motion, despite the fact that poll after poll shows that the vast majority of Minnesotans support these common sense bills.

But we aren't done pushing for change. Not even close. Alongside every Minnesota parent and survivor of gun violence, we will continue to be inspired by Harper's parents and the Annunciation families who are powerfully leading through grief to deliver what the people of Minnesotan want - for us to choose the safety of our kids over edicts from the gun lobby.

It was a sour note to end on before our break, but I am as confident as ever that together with Minnesotans this is a fight that we will ultimately win - confidence that was boosted once again by over 100,000 Minnesotans gathering at the Capitol just a few days later to make their voices heard in pursuit of freedom, justice, and democracy at the No Kings Rally.

You’re beautiful, Minnesota.

Delivering Assistance to Supportive Housing

It has been hard to make progress this session, but I’m grateful for a recent, important victory to prevent more homelessness in Minnesota.

As one of the first new laws of this session, Governor Walz signed my bill to provide a lifeline to supportive housing providers who are at the front lines of our work to prevent homelessness.

The Trump administration has put the homes of thousands of our most vulnerable in jeopardy, but here in Minnesota, we are stepping up where the federal government has failed.

Let this win be momentum for the work ahead.

Child Tax Credit Reminder 

A reminder that Tax Day is April 15. If you’re still working on your 2025 taxes and have children, please don’t forget about the Child Tax Credit! It is NOT automatic. So far this year, more than 154,000 tax returns have claimed the Child Tax Credit, benefiting over 318,000 children across Minnesota. Families are receiving an average credit of $2,669.

You can learn more about eligibility here. The credit is estimated to reduce child poverty by up to a third in Minnesota, making it one of the most impactful investments DFLers protected amid federal cuts.

Passing this tax credit was a huge accomplishment during the DFL trifecta, but there’s no reason progress like this should be relegated to the past. We have the ability to deliver support to Minnesotans just like this in our remaining weeks of session, and that’s what I’ll be fighting for. 

In partnership, 

Michael Howard