Legislative Update – May 21, 2025
Dear neighbors,
Yesterday was World Bee Day, a day designated by the United Nations to highlight bees and other pollinators' important role in our ecosystem and commit to protecting them from threats like habitat loss, unsustainable agricultural practices, climate change, and pollution. I spoke about World Bee Day on Monday night before the House adjourned, which you can read about here from Bluestem Prairie.
In Minnesota, we have made significant progress in protecting pollinators, increasing habitat, and furthering research in the past couple of years. While Big Ag, pesticide companies, and corporations are fighting to roll back the changes we passed, DFLers are committed to protecting our environment for future generations of Minnesotans.
You can find pollinator-friendly planting resources, community science opportunities, and wild bee identification information from the Minnesota DNR here.
End of Regular Session
Shortly 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 helping our teachers, firefighters, and police, and a human services policy bill.
I’m glad to report that included in the Legacy Bill is a provision I worked on to ensure the Serbian Hall in South St. Paul is prioritized for funding set aside for commemorating historic buildings and structures in our state.
Special sessions aren’t uncommon 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.
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.
Agriculture Budget Passes 130-4
As mentioned above, one of the bills passed in the final days of the regular session was the Agriculture Budget bill, which I authored and negotiated as co-chair of the House Agriculture Committee. The bill passed 130-4, with all DFLers in support.
In negotiations with House Republicans, the Senate, and the Governor’s team, I held strong to the investments we made in people. One highlight in the bill is a program that mirrors the federal Local Food Purchasing program that Trump and Musk cut. We’re working to plug the holes left by the federal government and connect local food with local people.
We protected funding for farm-to-school programs, increased worker protections for all farm laborers, and provided down payment assistance to small new farmers trying to break into an economy tilted towards Big Ag. All those investments made it into the final bill that the Governor will sign.
Agriculture is changing, and our budget bill lays a foundation for the future by focusing on the culture in Agriculture, the people who make our food system work. You can watch my comments on the House Floor here.
Protecting Federal Workers
Another item we voted for on Monday was a bill extending the availability of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for laid-off miners on the Iron Range an additional 26 weeks. I voted in favor of that bill because supporting workers who are unexpectedly laid off, through no fault of their own, is the right thing to do.
In Minnesota, we’re also seeing unexpected layoffs come down from the Trump Administration, with about 300 federal workers now struggling to provide for themselves and their families. Just like the miners we voted to extend benefits to this week, these workers are often highly skilled and specialized, and were fired through no fault of their own.
Those federal workers should be eligible for the same UI benefit extension the House voted on last night, and I’m calling on our leaders to find a solution that ensures we’re supporting all workers in the state of Minnesota. You can read more in my latest press release.
Stay in Touch!
Please continue to share your questions, ideas, and feedback throughout the year. You can reach me by email at rep.rick.hansen@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651-296-6828.
For more regular updates, you can subscribe to these regular legislative updates if you haven’t already, here, and you can also “like” and follow my official State Representative Facebook page.
Sincerely,
Rick Hansen
State Representative