Dear Neighbors, We’re quickly approaching the end of the 2025 Legislative Session. Since my previous update, we’ve passed 13 of the House’s budget proposals. Below, you can find nonpartisan summaries of the bills we’ve passed: For most of these budgets, they are compromises I know our community and Minnesota can live with - budgets that either “keep the lights on” and do no harm, or even find common ground that benefits the entire state. While it passed the House, I did vote against the Transportation Budget. I don’t serve on the Transportation Committee, and while I empathize with my colleagues that do, I could not support their bill. There are certainly good components of it, but the main sticking points for me were the cuts to greater Minnesota transit (a $12 million cut), and its delay in implementing the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. The upside is this isn’t the final budget bill yet, none of these bills are. The next step will be to work with our colleagues in the Senate, who are passing their own budget bills, and hammer out our differences before sending these bills to Governor Walz. There are differences of opinion, including Republicans advocating for a rollback or elimination of: healthcare for our undocumented neighbors, paid family medical leave, earned sick and safe time, unemployment insurance for hourly school workers, and others. I don’t support rollbacks or the elimination of any of those, and neither do the majority of my DFL colleagues. Giving Minnesotans access to preventative healthcare is far cheaper than paying for care received at the emergency room. Workers, regardless of employer size, deserve time off to take care of themselves and loved ones. Hourly school workers - who are predominantly women and minorities - deserve access to unemployment insurance just like those in male dominated fields like construction. I point this out because I want to be clear about the latest developments in our budgeting process. It’s natural at this point for folks to get entrenched in their legislative priorities, but I’m confident we’ll find a bipartisan solution in our remaining days without compromising on my values and the ones you voted for. In addition to our budget efforts, I’ve been part of the negotiating team that has been trading offers with Republicans for a bonding bill, which would invest in state infrastructure. We’ve been trading multiple offers back and forth daily. Incremental progress gets made every day, and I’m hopeful that we will get one done this year. The House’s Human Services Budget As a member of the Human Services Committee, several of my proposals ended up in our Human Services Budget. Our committee’s bill is a reflection of our need to grapple with uncertain federal funding and the growing number of Minnesotans that rely on these services. It doesn’t do enough, but in the current situation we find ourselves, it’s what we could get passed in a tied House. We should be investing more into Human Services, not less, and while this budget doesn’t meet all of Minnesota’s needs, I’m incredibly proud of the provisions that would provide a much-needed wage increase for nursing home workers and some PCAs. We need to make these jobs sustainable careers if we want to meaningfully support the Minnesotans that rely on their services. |