Dear Neighbor,
It’s great to be back at the Capitol with the 2026 session getting underway this week. There’s a lot to do and not much time to do it.
The combination of the former trifecta spending our $18 billion surplus, raising taxes by $10 billion, and imposing numerous mandates during the last biennium has made life more expensive for many Minnesotans. We need to build on last year’s successes by targeting fraud, improving affordability and safety, reducing red tape, raising expectations in education, and ensuring taxpayer funds go where they were intended.
House Republicans recently shared a list of overarching priorities for the 2026 legislative session, starting with “Stop the Fraud.” The estimated $9 billion that’s been stolen from taxpayers becomes very real when you realize it’s about $3,840 per household. That is real money families could have used for necessities. Sadly, those dollar figures may even be much higher, but we’ll probably never know the actual totals because of how massive this problem has become.
The good news is this subject has made so many headlines in recent months that it’s impossible to ignore. House Republicans have authored several bills to address this problem and I will share more of those details as the session unfolds. For now, here’s a look at the top House Republican priorities for 2026:
- Stop the Fraud
- Make Minnesota Affordable
- Make Minnesota Safe
- Raise Standards, Reduce Mandates
- Make Minnesota Competitive
- Minnesota Tax Dollars for Minnesotans
Committee work
I continue serving as co-chair of the House Energy Finance and Policy Committee, and also remain a member of Taxes, and Ways and Means. As noted in my last newsletter, I will continue working as co-chair on Energy to bring down energy costs and reduce mandates. We need to focus on delivering more affordable, accessible and reliable energy for all Minnesotans instead of the metro-centric policies we continue to see.
Helpful House links
Here are some links you may find helpful in following the House this session:
Hope you have a good weekend and please stay in touch as we make our way through the 2026 session. Also, please use the contact information on this page if you plan to be in St. Paul the next few months and would like to set up a visit to talk about whatever issues are important to you or your group. Our May 17 date to adjourn is going to get here before we know it, so let’s get after it!
Sincerely,
Chris