Legislative Update – May 23, 2025Dear Neighbors, I was so glad to join community members and advocates in the State Capitol for the one year anniversary celebration of the Office of the Foster Youth Ombudsperson, which handles complaints from anyone, prioritizing concerns from young people about their rights, care, safety, and placement in Minnesota foster care, including youth in Extended Foster Care and those who have recently aged out of care. The Office of the Foster Youth Ombudsperson was created by bipartisan legislation I authored in 2022. In the year since it’s been open, it has been a critical lifeline to our kids in foster care. It was great to hear from our ombudsperson, Misty Coonce, about their work to strengthen our foster care system.  This session, I pushed for increased investment in that office, giving them the tools they need to advocate for themselves. That provision is still in negotiations, and I’m working hard to get it across the finish line this year. End of Regular SessionShortly before our midnight deadline on Monday evening, the House adjourned the 2025 regular legislative session. The House and Senate passed many of our budget bills before that deadline, sending them to the Governor for his signature. However, other parts of the budget were still locked in negotiations, meaning we will have to return for a short special session to complete our outstanding work.  Before adjournment, we passed budget bills on Veterans and Military Affairs, Agriculture, Housing, Judiciary and Public Safety, and State Government and Elections. We also passed our Legacy bill funding projects that preserve our environment and arts and cultural heritage, a pensions bill to support our teachers, firefighters, and police, and a human services policy bill. I’m glad to report that many of these bills were improved in negotiations, like funding for veterans' homelessness, which was restored in the final Veterans budget. I’m also glad that my bill strengthening requirements for prescription medication access in our correctional facilities is on its way to being signed by the Governor. Special SessionSpecial sessions are common in the Minnesota Legislature, especially during times of divided government control. I’ve served during many of them. In fact, the only recent budget year where we haven’t needed a special session was in 2023, when DFLers in the House, Senate, and Governor’s office worked efficiently together to pass one of the most transformative budgets in state history. Unfortunately, with Republicans at the negotiating table, they were able to stall progress, even on bipartisan budget bills to repeal past progress and force a special session. On many of these bills, Republicans have brought in last-minute demands unrelated to our budget because they’re more interested in fighting partisan battles to take away programs and support for our most vulnerable neighbors. Republicans have shown us they’re willing to break their word, waste time, and threaten to shut down the state government because they aren’t willing to compromise. Higher Education Stalled by the GOPFor example, in the Higher Education Committee, which I serve on, Republicans signed our budget spreadsheet, which is the basis for passing a budget bill. Then, they stalled for days and started pushing an ultimatum that a University of Minnesota Regents election must be part of a special session deal. Let’s be clear, Republicans have control of the House and the Speaker’s position, and they could have worked all session to get that done, but they didn’t. Instead, they’re using it now as a wedge and holding up negotiations on a Higher Education budget bill that includes important funding, like provisions I fought for that help single parents achieve their American Dream and pursue higher education. Our students and our families deserve better than being used in such a partisan way. You can watch more from my colleague who spoke at a press conference last week here.  Protecting Access to HealthcareRepublicans have also held the state budget hostage unless their demand to strip health care access for our undocumented neighbors was met. They have been willing to risk a state government shutdown, along with all the services Minnesotans rely on, just to strip the dignity from our community members who pay taxes and work to make our state better every day. The compromise reached by legislative leaders would strip MinnesotaCare, a health care program for Minnesotans with low incomes, from undocumented adults, leaving undocumented children still eligible. The nature of compromise is that no one gets everything they want, but I will not compromise on my values and the values you sent me to the Minnesota House to represent. I will not vote for a bill that strips health care access away from anyone. This is a proposal that is not just morally wrong, but fiscally irresponsible. Just because someone doesn’t have health insurance doesn’t mean they don’t get sick. More often than not they just put off seeking medical treatment until they end up in a costly emergency room, where medical emergencies are treated regardless of coverage at increased cost to hospitals and taxpayers. I want to lift up the words of Doctor Senator Alice Mann, an emergency room physician, who spoke at a press conference after the announcement was made alongside the legislature’s bicameral People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus. Watch Senator Mann’s comments here.  This is not “free health care,” as some have said. This population of Minnesotans pays more than $220 million in taxes per year, and they pay premiums and copays, just like everyone else. The enrollment in this program has happened faster than anticipated, showing the great demand for health care access, but the costs through the first four months are lower than forecasted. It is not low-income immigrants who are to blame for our current budget situation. It is the wealthy millionaires, billionaires, and corporations who don't pay their fair share to contribute to our state's economy, including the for-profit health care system that is already broken and will only get worse because of this policy. What Comes Next?Minnesota is already grappling with an uncertain economic future thanks to the actions of the Trump administration, and Republicans in the legislature would make it worse by kneecapping progress and cutting services while the wealthy and well-connected get richer. Republicans should set aside these partisan ultimatums and recognize that passing a budget is the most important job we have as legislators, come to the negotiating table in good faith, and get this done. While we wait for final budget agreements and the Governor to officially call a special session, I’m focused on using this “extra” time talking to my colleagues and advocating for provisions that will help strengthen our district and state. |