Dear Neighbor, The legislature returned to the Capitol this week as the 2026 session began on Tuesday. This is an important session, particularly as we continue working to restore balance after the reckless spending, unnecessary tax hikes and radical policies enacted in the last two-year cycle. We delivered the largest government spending cut in state history last year but a lot more work remains. It starts with cracking down on fraud that’s been running wild in our state. I’m ready to get to work this session so we can start addressing that issue and others that Minnesotans care about most. Here’s what’s interesting: The House is split 67-67 and, based on what I’m seeing this week, you’d swear only 67 people are taking a serious approach to cracking down on fraud (theft from taxpayers) that is estimated to be $9 billion but nobody really knows. Instead of prioritizing fraud, it seems our colleagues across the aisle are more interested in bailing out Twin Cities businesses from the perceived adverse effects of immigration enforcement. In short, observers/antagonizers pushed citizens to boycott businesses in Minnesota. They called for a complete suspension of consumer spending, resulting in hundreds of businesses closing, while others saw significant drops in sales. Now, they want us to bail out businesses that suffered lost revenue. (No word on how they propose recovering classroom time many struggling students lost because schools were shut down.) Didn’t we see something a bit similar in 2020? I guess we didn’t learn anything from history because it looks like they want it to repeat itself. Or, on the other hand, maybe they did learn something… Bottom line: This is nothing more than political theater in a tied House. We have less than 90 days to get our work done before the legislature is set to adjourn May 17 and are better off focusing on areas where we can find bipartisan agreement that is necessary for anything to pass the House. For example, let’s get serious about fraud since it’s clear to anyone who’s been paying attention that Minnesota has a major problem. We can start by having the House approve a bill the Senate passed 60-7 last session to create a new Office of the Inspector General. Legislation with such broad, bipartisan support in the Senate should be able to pass the House, right? Not so fast. House Democrats tried to gut that bill in committee this week and move forward a watered-down OIG bill. That’s not what we need. What we need is the bill the Senate passed 60-7, stipulating the OIG would function as an independent office with law enforcement authority, a power not currently held by existing agencies. Anything less would be window dressing and political cover that makes people look like they are serious about fraud without actually being serious about fraud. House Republicans have made cracking down on fraud it a top priority. We are walking the walk with the OIG bill and several others to address this issue. This wasn’t a one-time breakdown. Fraud kept happening for years and ballooned out of control under the former trifecta. And these aren’t harmless losses because each dollar stolen is one less for children, struggling families, the homeless, or those needing specialized care. Look for more on fraud as we make our way through the session, along with other top House Republican priorities for the session. Here’s the list (starting with fraud, of course): - Stop the Fraud
- Make Minnesota Affordable
- Make Minnesota Safe
- Raise Standards, Reduce Mandates
- Make Minnesota Competitive
- Minnesota Tax Dollars for Minnesotans
In addition to fraud, I also want to briefly mention “Make Minnesota Affordable” today because the impact of the former trifecta spending away an $18 billion surplus, hiking taxes by $10 billion, and expanding mandates is being felt by families across the state. For example, effects of the state’s new paid-leave program are just starting to surface. I am authoring legislation to address a problem that’s arisen regarding staffing ratios that are required between apprentices and journeymen in the event a journeyman takes extended leave. I will be back with more on that issue and other notes from the Capitol soon. Until then, please stay in touch and let me know how I can help. Sincerely, Shane |