Hello from the State Capitol,
The 2025 legislative session came to an end last night, and though some budget work is completed, there are several other areas where compromises still need to be found.
Late last week, legislative leaders and Governor Walz announced that an agreement had been reached on a state budget framework.
With leadership having agreed on the broad parameters of our next budget, joint House/Senate conference committees worked on the specifics within their respective areas within government. This weekend, we approved several of these compromise finance proposals, such as public safety, agriculture, and state government. But others, like the health and transportation conference committees, came close but did not finalize agreements before adjournment, which means a special session is needed to finish things up.
The overall budget framework agreement provides the largest cut to government spending in state history. It eliminates nearly half of the projected budget deficit Democrats created when they grew government by 40% and raised taxes by $10 billion two years ago, and no Minnesota family will see a tax increase.
My best guess is the governor will wait until all of the remaining House/Senate conference committee reports are finalized before calling a very limited special session, which I believe will happen in the coming days.
I will be sure to keep you updated on our progress.
JUDICIARY FINANCE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT APPROVED
As co-chair of the Judiciary and Civil Law Committee, I was very pleased to see a bipartisan compromise on public safety and judiciary finance approved before session ended.
While this bill does not meet every request sought by the judicial branch this session, I am pleased we are funding needed priorities and helping ensure that Minnesotans will receive justice when they need to use our court system.
One of the positives of the bill is that it will restart the Guardian ad Litem volunteer program. It was established in 2010 to advocate for the best interest of children in Juvenile and Family courts, and was needlessly ditched by a DFL-led legislature and Governor Walz last session.
Our approved bill not only brings the program back but also provides funding needed to train the volunteers. This is great news for children who are in very difficult spots, and they will greatly benefit from having Guardian ad Litems in their lives.
Talk to you soon
Peggy