Legislative Update- March 27, 2026

Legislative Update from Rep. Cheryl Youakim

Dear Neighbors,

We made it to Friday. It was a busy week with a flurry of activity to meet our committee deadline for policy bills to advance. We will be on a brief break before we come back to work on bills that include funding before the April 17 budget deadline.

Floor Activity

On Monday, we unanimously passed legislation off the House Floor to repeal César Chavez Day amid a lengthy investigation into his involvement in the sexual abuse of young girls.

If you’ve been following the local news, you may have seen coverage of the Governor/House Republican school voucher standoff. As I mentioned in my last email newsletter, my education co-chair Kresha publicly threatened to block all other legislation if the GOP didn’t get their main priority passed, which prioritizes aid to nonpublic schools.

Unfortunately, on Wednesday, in what should have been a short, procedural floor session to continue advancing bills, my Republican colleagues lived up to their promise and made a motion to go end session and go home. All but four GOP House members voted to go home without fraud prevention solutions and without finishing our work on bipartisan bills that have passed off the House floor.

They voted to go home without relief for our small businesses, restaurants, or renters from the federal actions. To end session without stabilizing our food shelves after SNAP cuts or help for those who will be losing their insurance coverage. And without passing legislation to protect our schools, hospitals/clinics, or places of worship from unfettered federal agents.  I was very disappointed to say the least, and I’m glad some of my Republican colleagues used common sense and voted no with all of my DFL colleagues. 

Equally frustrating was when my DFL colleagues and I brought three common-sense bills forward — two on gun safety and one to keep ICE out of schools without a judicial warrant. Instead of honest debate, the other side simply blocked us. This motion would simply have allowed the bills to be placed on the General Register so that they could be brought up on the House floor for further discussion and amendments.

In the years I have been here, I've never seen a good bill pass without some back-and-forth. Shutting that down — especially with grieving parents watching and our students experiencing the level of trauma and learning loss that they are— is unacceptable. 

School security upgrades and increased mental health supports for our students still need to be part of the discussion, but we also need to limit access to dangerous guns to keep our kids safe. I'm asking my colleagues across the aisle: come to the table and work with us. The people of Minnesota deserve better than this.

I spoke during the debate on the bill on prohibiting ICE from staging on school grounds or entering our schools, unless they have judicial warrant, to describe the undue stress their actions have put our students, teachers, and administrators.

Committee Work

This week in the House Tax Committee, staff presented the results of this year’s Tax Incidence Study which showed that Minnesota has the second most progressive tax structure in the country.

Minnesotans at all income levels (except the lowest one) pay about 12% of their income in state and local taxes, with more affluent taxpayers paying mostly income taxes while lower income households pay proportionately more in sales and property taxes. We also heard a bill including extending the funding to counties to build affordable housing and a variety of other bills that were laid over for future consideration

In the Ways and Means Committee we voted to send the majority of those bills to the House floor and then another one back to the Commerce Committee where it will reside for final action.

In the Education Finance Committee this week, when the GOP had the gavel, they brought back up a bill that would require the Governor to opt-in to a tax credit for school vouchers. It was a tied vote, with all DFL members voting no and all GOP members voting yes, so the bill will remain in the Education Finance Committee. We also informationally heard a few bills that would have made changes to PSEO.

On Thursday, when I had the gavel, I presented the K-12 forecast article bill. This bill, of whom I am the chief author, adjusts the funds that go to our schools to the February forecast numbers. I am happy to report that the bill was sent to the House Ways and Means Committee with a unanimous voice vote. I also presented a bill on a proposed structure for student mental health grants to organizations that work with youth outside the school day and in the summer. Organizations that get young people physically active, away from technology, and making connections with their peers could apply for these competitive grants through the Minnesota Department of Education. The bill had a positive reception, but I would like to work with some more stake holders so we laid the bill over for further conversation.

During that committee time, we also heard a bill on ways to retain our teachers and one to create an interagency council on student attendance so that folks are not working in silos as we try to find ways to keep kids in school.

Constituent Visits

Monday started out with a visit from Minnesota Association of Clinical Oncology regarding the need to reform prior authorization, so that cancer patients have timely access to important care. After committee and before session, I met with a dedicated group of social service workers to discuss their priorities for their clients, constituents advocating the importance of access to reproductive care as well as Maxine Maxon and others with SEIU to talk about fair wages and workload in hospitals.

I had the chance to meet with constituents visiting the Capitol Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday on a variety of issues. Sue Dorkin from Mount Olivet Rollings and I talked about clear expectations and standards for waivered services and continued services for those living in their own homes. I had an update on the great work that Children’s First is doing in St. Louis Park and Hopkins and meet with their partners at the Education Partnership Coalition. The Minnesota Association of Professional Employees were at the Capitol on Wednesday, and I had a great conversation with constituent Sarah Merkus who works in cybersecurity for the MNIT within the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Thursday was Disability Day at the Capitol, Thursday, I had a visit from the folks at Vail Place advocating for continued for the amazing clubhouse model they run in Hopkins, Minneapolis, and Ramsey County.

Keep in Touch

Please continue contacting me anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889. Email is the quickest way to get in touch. 

Thank you for the honor of representing our Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina neighbors at the State Capitol. Next week, legislators are on Easter/Passover/Eid recess. However you may celebrate, I wish you a restful holiday.

Rep. Cheryl Youakim
46B – Hopkins, Edina, & St. Louis Park