End of Session Update Dear friends and neighbors, The 2025-26 Legislative Session has officially come to a close, and while I'm still catching up on sleep and coffee consumption, I'm proud of what we were able to accomplish for Minnesota families, taxpayers, students, and our Greater Minnesota communities. I was incredibly grateful for the local leaders who work tirelessly to make our communities stronger. Thank you to Mayor Fred Froehlich of Nicollet, Mayor Shannon Nowell of St. Peter, and every city commissioner, township, county, and community leader across District 18A who partnered with me this session to get things done for the people we serve. And the best part? We have real results to show for it. So, let's get into it! Delivering for Our District!Lafayette Water Treatment PlantOne of the most impactful parts of each legislative year is the bonding tour, where legislators from both sides of the aisle travel through districts across Minnesota to see project proposals firsthand. It’s one thing to read about a need on paper, but it’s another thing entirely to visit a community, meet the people affected, and gain an understanding as to why these projects are so critical. This year, I had the privilege of bringing attention to the Lafayette Water Treatment Facility and the urgent need for upgrades there. Clean drinking water should never be negotiable, especially in a state blessed with so much fresh water. But sometimes our aging infrastructure across Minnesota needs a little extra love, and that was exactly the case in Lafayette. That’s why I’m so grateful to share that my bill, House File 0448, made it across the finish line this session. This legislation provides $3.1 million for the reconstruction and implementation of a reverse osmosis system, along with the necessary improvements to the Lafayette Water Treatment Facility. This is a tremendous win for Lafayette and for the families and businesses who rely on safe, reliable drinking water every single day.  Above is a photo of the water we saw when we toured the facility last fall. And the truth is, no family in Minnesota should be dealing with water that looks like that in 2026. This is a real crisis for the people who call this community home. That’s why I’m incredibly grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for recognizing just how critical this funding is for Lafayette and the surrounding area. Safe, clean drinking water should never depend on your zip code. I’m proud to continue fighting for rural Minnesota and making sure our communities are not forgotten. Mankato Regional Airport Traffic Control Tower Another piece of legislation I was incredibly proud to see make it across the finish line this session was House file 4486, which appropriates $1.3 million for the construction of a brand-new air traffic control tower. You may remember me talking about this bill earlier in the session, because from the very beginning, this was one of my top priorities. I truly believed in the long-term impact this project could have on Southern Minnesota, and I’m so grateful to everyone who helped make it happen. A huge thank you to the many local advocates, city administrators, and to Representative Jon Koznick for helping move this bill across the finish line. Big projects like this only happen when people come together and stay committed to seeing them through. I’m excited to see how this investment will strengthen the aviation and piloting industry in Southern Minnesota, while also creating new opportunities for young people interested in pursuing careers in aviation. The future is bright, and this is just the beginning! Holding the Line for Minnesotans Now onto some of the bigger wins our caucus brought home this session! This was the second half of the biennium, and once again, we operated in a tied House. With a 67-67 split, the reality was this: nobody was going to get everything they wanted, and every serious bill required bipartisan support to cross the finish line. Fighting Fraud and Protecting TaxpayersOne of our biggest priorities this session was tackling fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars because Minnesotans work too hard to watch their money disappear into government black holes and criminal schemes. This session, we passed several important reforms, including: - Creating an independent statewide Office of Inspector General to investigate fraud across state government, strengthen oversight, provide real investigative authority, and improve coordination across agencies.
- Passing stronger tools to recover stolen taxpayer dollars so the state has a better ability to go after money that was taken through fraud.
- Establishing a 100% tax penalty on money obtained through fraud, making clear that fraudsters will not be allowed to profit from stolen taxpayer dollars.
- Increasing oversight and reporting requirements for state programs, giving the Legislature and the public better information about how taxpayer dollars are being used.
- Locking in Medicaid work requirements to align with federal law, which will strengthen accountability, encourage workforce participation, create long-term savings, and help protect these programs for the Minnesotans who truly need them.
Modernizing Government SystemsWe also made important investments in technology modernization. I know “government software upgrades” doesn’t exactly sound thrilling, but outdated systems make it harder to prevent fraud, verify eligibility, and efficiently deliver services. Modernizing these systems will help counties operate more effectively, save taxpayer dollars over time, reduce pressure on property taxes, and help ensure benefits go to the people who actually qualify for them. Making Minnesota More AffordableAffordability continues to be one of the biggest concerns I hear from families across our district. Groceries cost more, energy costs more, and even buying eggs now feels like making a luxury purchase. This session, House Republicans secured: - $125 million in property tax relief
- $250 million in car tab fee reductions
- An end to the Ballpark Tax
- Federal tax conformity measures, including an extension of the pass-through entity tax provision, delivering meaningful relief for Minnesota businesses at zero additional cost to the state
Minnesotans deserve to keep more of what they earn. Plain and simple. Protecting Every Student in Every School School safety was deeply personal to me this session. We approached this work with three priorities in mind: - It needed to address real safety concerns.
- It needed to actually have a path to becoming law.
- It needed to protect ALL students in ALL schools.
That last part mattered a great deal to me. A student’s safety should never depend on their ZIP code or whether they attend a public, nonpublic, or Tribal school. Every child deserves to feel safe when they walk through those school doors. This session, we secured: - $5 million for anonymous threat reporting systems
- $12.5 million for school-linked behavioral health grants
- $3.8 million for mobile crisis grants
Importantly, these resources are available to public, nonpublic, and Tribal schools because protecting students should never be selective. We also advanced legislation to criminalize grooming and improve reporting systems for the maltreatment of minors so warning signs can be identified earlier and predators can be stopped sooner. I’m proud of those wins. But I also want to be honest with you: I’m not fully satisfied with where we ended. There is still more work to do, especially when it comes to the physical security side of school safety. Schools continue to need stronger support for building security, emergency planning, threat response, and the practical tools that help keep students, teachers, and staff safe every single day. This issue is too important to declare victory and walk away. I certainly won’t. Protecting Opportunity in Higher Education As Co-Chair of the Higher Education Committee, I was especially excited about the work we got done for students across Minnesota. Higher education bills may not always grab the same attention as the big headline debates, but these policies shape the everyday lives of students trying to navigate college, careers, and ultimately set the stage for quality of life through adulthood. This year, we focused on making higher education a little more transparent and a lot more student-focused. One of the wins I’m most proud of was expanding protections for pregnant and parenting students—no one should have to put their education on hold simply because they’re raising a family. We want students to succeed both in the classroom and at home. We also added stronger transparency requirements so students know upfront if a developmental course won’t count toward graduation credits before signing up for it. If students are taking out loans and working late-night jobs to pay tuition, the least we can do is be transparent about what counts and what doesn’t. We expanded eligibility language for American Indian Scholars programs, simplified reporting requirements across financial aid programs, and strengthened oversight for colleges, universities, and private career schools to ensure institutions are held accountable to students and taxpayers alike. We even tackled “ghost student” fraud this session. Apparently scammers figured out financial aid exists too. Our bill puts stronger anti-fraud protections in place to stop fake enrollments from siphoning away aid dollars that should be going to real Minnesota students working hard to build a better future. At the end of the day, this bill was about making higher education work better for the people it’s actually meant to serve: students, families, and taxpayers. I’m incredibly proud of the work we accomplished this session, and I look forward to continuing to fine-tune the system next session. A Session of Progress, Partnership, and Gratitude There is always more work to be done, and I certainly won’t pretend we accomplished everything I hoped we would this session. But in a tied House, I’m proud that we were still able to make meaningful progress on issues that matter deeply to Minnesotans across the state and especially to the communities I represent in Northwest Minnesota. Serving my first term in the Minnesota House has truly been one of the greatest honors of my life. I’ve learned quickly that this work is never just about votes or bills—it will always be about the people. To everyone who took the time to reach out this session—whether to share concerns, ask questions, offer ideas, or simply stop and say hello, I am genuinely grateful. Your voices shaped my work more than you know, and I don’t take that trust lightly for a second. I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to serve, and I look forward to continuing to elevate your voices, fight for our communities, and represent you for as long as you’ll allow me to. Until next time, —Representative Erica Schwartz |