Neighbors, The 2026 legislature adjourned on May 18, and I've been reflecting on the whirlwind session. From the start, DFLers were loud and clear about our top priorities: addressing fraud prevention, advancing affordability initiatives, preventing gun violence, and holding ICE and federal immigration agents accountable for the lawless tactics that stole the lives of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. We brought forward a slate of bills that were intentional, commonsense, and fiscally responsible. As a caucus, we were determined to move these bills through committee in good faith, always centering the voices of our communities. Unsurprisingly, we were met with Republican opposition every step of the way. While I fought alongside my team to meet the moment for Minnesotans, I also have continued to focus on advocating for our most vulnerable. The turbulence of the federal government over the past year has impacted communities with disabilities the most, as too many Minnesotans struggle to access the services they need to stay on the planet. I successfully passed a bill to amend the Minnesota Human Rights Act to implement a reasonable process requirement for accommodating Minnesotans with disabilities in areas like housing, public services, education, and other public accommodations. I’m incredibly proud of all of the advocates who poured their hearts out, shared their experiences, and spent countless hours working to get this bill into law. While moments of the legislative session showed a glimmer of hope in an otherwise terrible year, more harm has been handed down to us from the feds since session ended just a few weeks ago – a continuation of Trump’s promise of retribution against the people of Minnesota. I’ve been sounding the alarm for months. Minnesota Republicans used their power in the tied house to maintain the status quo of inaction. Part of the Trump admiration’s retribution plan in Minnesota included revaluation for almost 5,600 providers in less than 150 days, regardless of the fact that each one takes HOURS. This is on top of the normal revalidation cycle providers go through every 3-5 years, (and those are still happening.) Together, well over 6000 providers are affected. Why are providers in this situation? Here are a few circumstances that can now subject otherwise compliant providers to scrutiny and loss of funding: - Providers turned in forms on May 1st, but they weren’t reviewed before the 30th.
- Providers made administrative errors like checking a box instead of initialing a box.
- A required person was out of the office during an unannounced site visit, so it had to be done again.
And the list goes on and on. The consequences have been awful for people who need services - and it’s resulted in less trust in services and more division. This is not making MN or our system better, it's hurting providers who serve our communities and the people who rely on them. I am frustrated. I am worried for people. They’re coming for people with disabilities and immigrants today. It could be any one of us tomorrow. Never forget that as Minnesotans, when they come for one of us, they come for all of us. As your State Representative, I promise you this: I will never stop fighting for Minnesotans with disabilities. I will never be silent when our kids’ special education services are threatened. And I will never stop calling out the ignorance and hypocrisy of those who threated them.  Protecting Public DollarsAnother issue that looms large in the aftermath of session is fraudsters taking advantage of our public programs. This is another way our vulnerable communities are being walked on, and I’m furious that the federal government is making the issue worse rather than helping us. This week, Republicans in U.S. Congress released a “report” on fraud in Minnesota – a 205 page document lamenting about fraudsters who have been caught and prosecuted, program holes that have been addressed by the legislature, and pointing fingers at Minnesotans for Trump’s political gain. In fact, this session the Minnesota Legislature passed my major Medicaid anti-fraud bill that will hire more investigators and prosecutors to fight Medicaid fraud, stiffen penalties, make it easier to prosecute fraudsters, and unlock a 3-to-1 federal funding match for anti-fraud efforts, which is just a straight-up good deal for MN taxpayers. We also established an independent, fully-funded, and empowered Office of Inspector General to investigate misuse of public funds across state government. It's incredibly frustrating to me that the Trump Administration continues to point a generalized finger at Minnesota when the State Legislature has absolutely met the moment to both fight and prevent fraud. This glaring oversight further calls into question the accuracy of the entire report, which feels more politically-motivated than evidence-based. There is more work to be done, but it's convenient that the dozens of anti-fraud laws that we've passed since 2023 are barely mentioned in this "report." If the Federal Government is serious about helping us fight fraud, they should be actually partnering with us instead of wasting taxpayer money on reports like this. I want to be clear: there has been a lot of bipartisan work that happened on this, and I’m grateful to the Republicans in the House who worked in good-faith with us to do that. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something that was taken seriously across the board, and we ran into several issues where my colleagues overlooked reality and focused on the wrong things, trying to solve a problem that wasn’t there. I’m hopeful that next year, we can get past those distractions and virtue signaling and finish the job to protect public dollars. You can read about the fraud prevention measures the legislature has implemented here. Stay Connected with the LegislaturePlease continue to reach out with any input, ideas, or feedback about the issues important to you. I value hearing from you, so call or email any time. You can find my information on my House website. You can also like my Facebook page. It is an honor to represent you at the State Capitol. Sincerely, Kim Hicks State Representative |