Legislative Update from Rep. Mike Freiberg

Neighbors,   

Eid Mubarak to all celebrating this week and weekend!  

Last week, Rep. David Gottfried of Roseville was sworn into office, officially bringing the Minnesota House back to a 67-67 tie! I’m hopeful that the days of dangerous right-wing bills on the Floor are over thanks to committees being restored to an equal split of Republicans and Democrats. I’m optimistic that we will spend our remaining weeks of the legislative session working together on bills that will actually pass the House, rather than items from the MAGA agenda that don’t stand a chance at a single DFL vote.  

With the tie restored, I also finally took up the gavel as co-Chair of the Elections Committee. My main priority in committee this year is protecting the progress we made towards making our elections safer, more secure, and more accessible during the 2023-2024 biennium. As a body, it’s up to us to craft a state budget that is balanced and beneficial for all of Minnesota.  

Thanks for a great town hall!

We had a great conversation with members of the community that joined Sen. Rest, Rep. Frazier, and me for a town hall on the 15th.  Across Minnesota, we’ve been seeing an increase in attendance of town hall meetings like this one. With the chaos coming from the White House and congressional Republicans’ unwillingness to answer to constituents, people from all over are getting more involved with their local representation. Unlike congressional Republicans, District 43 not afraid to hear from and talk to our communities!  

Constituent Corner

On Monday, I had the chance to catch up with educators and representatives from the Robbinsdale and Hopkins school districts. There’s so much more work to be done to help support our schools, and I was thankful folks from our schools made the trip to advocate for our kids.  

Real ID Taking Effect in May (for real this time!)

Beginning May 7, 2025, Minnesotans 18 years of age or older will not be able to use their standard driver's license or identification card to board domestic flights or enter certain federal facilities. Instead, they will need one of three options: 

• Minnesota REAL ID driver's license or identification card.
• Minnesota Enhanced driver's license or identification card.

Other federally-approved forms of identification. They are listed online here, but include: 

• U.S. passport or passport card
• Foreign government-issued passport
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
• Permanent resident card
• Border crossing card
• Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID
• U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents 

If you are not sure which license type is right for you, check out the Driver Vehicle Services’ website here.   

Adopt me!

To help combat the chaos in the news and from the White House, I want to take a moment for positivity each week. The Animal Humane Society is right here in our district and does great work to ensure animals in need find loving homes, provide affordable care for pets in our community, and initiate animal education.     

Meet Stella! Stella is a 6-year-old Terrier mix looking for her forever home. Stella needs to go to a home without cats or young children. She might take a little longer to acclimate due to her past, but with enough patience and love, she’ll be a great addition to your family! Stop by the Golden Valley Humane Society to meet Stella.  

P.s. - Sara from my last newsletter has found her fur-ever home! 

Stay Connected

Unfortunately, due to technological restraints, replies to this newsletter won’t reach me. To stay up to date with our important work at the State Capitol, you can see the Minnesota House of Public Information Services’ nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication. 

You can also stay up to date with the latest by following my Facebook page. 

To share your input or ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance, please feel free to reach out at rep.mike.freiberg@house.mn.gov or 651-296-4176, and I will be happy to help. If you were forwarded this email and you’d like to subscribe, click here. If you have a friend or neighbor who would be interested in receiving these, please forward this and encourage them to subscribe. 

It is an honor to continue to serve you.  

In solidarity,  

Rep. Mike Freiberg