Dear Neighbors and Friends, It’s hard to believe we are in the final few weeks of the 2025 legislative session. I want to catch you up to speed on where we are in the arc of session. In the past couple of weeks, DFLers have been focused on moving budget bills off the House floor and into a conference committee to be negotiated with the Senate. While we’ve been able to make steady progress, I want to bring more awareness around the contentious Education Budget bill. The GOP is proposing a repeal of the unemployment insurance benefits for hourly K-12 school workers. This rollback would disproportionately harm some of our most undervalued education workers. These essential workers—bus drivers, nutrition staff, clerical workers, and education support aides—were only granted access to unemployment insurance in Minnesota in 2023, correcting a decades-long injustice. Now, their hard-won protection faces elimination by House Republicans. For me, this is non-negotiable: we cannot continue to put Minnesotans in a position where they must choose between self-care and a paycheck. I will keep fighting for this basic and vital right for Minnesota workers who improve and support our students and school system. You can watch the short reel I made talking about protecting the UI benefit here.  Outfront and HIV Day on the Hill Today, I had the honor of speaking at Outfront Minnesota’s "Rally for Your Rights" Lobby Day. In my address, I emphasized the need for allies and those outside the LGBTQIA+ community to stand up boldly and loudly in support of our queer, trans, nonbinary, and two-spirit neighbors. I'm calling on allies to actively speak out against the cruel and harmful narratives that persist in our society today. We must take bold stances in denouncing hate and division wherever we encounter it—in our workplaces, our social circles, and our communities. This moment calls for courage, unity, and protection, guided by love rather than fear or hatred. When we remain silent, we become complicit. Let us raise our voices together to fight back and foster an inclusive state that belongs to everyone!  Legislators for a Guaranteed Income Last week was the official launch of the Legislators for Guaranteed Income initiative, a powerful new coalition where I proudly stand as one of 23 founding members representing 17 states, joining forces with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. Building on my work championing landmark guaranteed income legislation during the 2023-2024 biennium – I remain deeply dedicated to advancing this vital movement across our state and the nation. A basic income provides the stability that allows individuals to care for themselves, nurture their loved ones, and actively participate in their communities. It gives them the breathing room to make choices that improve their lives and loved ones. When people have their basic needs met, they're not just surviving; they're thriving. Read more on the launch here.  Budget Bills Passed in the House We're continuing to make strong progress passing budget bills on the House floor. Last week, we passed several major bill packages: - The Veterans and Military Affairs bill delivers robust support for Minnesota veterans and their families while funding operations for the Minnesota Department of Military Affairs. A landmark provision of the bill grants long-overdue recognition to Hmong and Lao veterans who served in Special Guerrilla Units (SGU) during the Secret War in Laos. These veterans risked their lives supporting American interests after receiving promises of support that were never fully realized. The legislation immediately confers "Veteran of the Secret War in Laos" status to Minnesota residents who were naturalized for their service.
- The Commerce bill funds the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the Office of Cannabis Management. It includes measures to protect Minnesotans from securities fraud, addresses rising homeowners' insurance premiums, and preserves consumer protections previously enacted by Democrats.
- The Housing Budget bill makes strategic investments aimed at helping people remain in their homes and creates new affordable homeownership opportunities, among other important initiatives. As a dedicated member of Housing Committee, I was honored to advocate for innovative solutions to addressing our housing crisis in Minnesota. Everything else in life is harder if you don’t have a safe and secure place to call home, which is why Republicans and Democrats worked together to put forward meaningful investments aimed at keeping people in their homes and creating new affordable homeownership opportunities.
While it is evident that further efforts are required to address Minnesota's housing challenges, I am committed to actively engaging with this issue and continuing to advance legislation aimed at facilitating homeownership, promoting housing stability, and fostering opportunities for Minnesotans to build generational wealth through their homes. You can read more about our Housing Budget here. The House and Senate have both passed their own Housing Budgets, with significant differences. We’ll hammer out those differences in a conference committee before passing a final version in the coming days. The House’s Higher Education Budget As the Trump administration seeks to control colleges and universities throughout the country, Republicans sought to deploy that same playbook on Minnesota’s campuses while making it more difficult for students to access higher learning. In our Higher Education Budget, DFLers fought to keep right-wing extremism out of our higher education institutions and protected opportunities for all Minnesotans to continue their education after high school. Since it was first introduced, the North Star Promise Program – providing free college tuition to students whose families make less than $80,000 a year – was highly targeted by Minnesota Republicans. Instead of providing a helping hand to those who face financial barriers to higher learning, they’d rather those hurdles stay in place. We know that Minnesota’s higher education system can be an effective path out of poverty, and stood firm against cuts to this program in our budget that gives students access to a degree without taking on unsustainable debt. Last session, we prioritized breaking down barriers to higher education and are reversing a 10-year enrollment decline exacerbated by the pandemic. By protecting pathways to higher learning, we know we can continue to grow undergraduate enrollment and make it easier for all students to attend Minnesota’s colleges and universities. You can read more about our Higher Education Budget here. House State Government and Elections Budget Last night, the House passed the State Government and Elections Budget bill with bipartisan support. I was proud to vote for this comprehensive legislation because it ensures the continuation of essential government services while implementing strategic investments in several key areas. As Trump and Musk attack our quality of life and access to public services with devastating cuts under DOGE, in Minnesota, we value a strong sense of community, ensuring our public investments make a difference for communities, and caring for one another in a government that works for everyone. On the elections front, the legislation provides necessary matching funds for the $1 million in federal Help America Vote Act dollars, which supports election security initiatives including cybersecurity software and improvements to the statewide voter registration system. The bill also funds the Campaign Finance Board's continued oversight of election-related financial activities.  The proposed budget outlined here represents our current position and priorities as we move forward in the process. It's important to note that these are not the final versions of the budget bills. We still need to negotiate with the Senate in Conference Committee, where differences between House and Senate versions will be reconciled. The final budget that emerges from this process may include modifications and compromises from both chambers before being presented for final approval. As the legislative session continues, I will keep you updated on key developments. Thank you for the honor of representing our community at the Capitol. |