St. Paul, MN – The Special Session of 2025 ended after a long day of debate yesterday, preventing a government shut-down at the start of the fiscal year on July 1st.
Rep. Kristin Robbins (R–Maple Grove) said Republicans worked hard to avoid a shut-down, which would have caused unnecessary stress and costs for Minnesotans if critical services provided by state agencies in healthcare, disability services, law enforcement, parks, permitting and education would have closed.
“Despite having a tied House and Democrats in full control of the Senate and Governor’s Office, we were able to stop billions in new taxes and mandates. We also ended taxpayer-funded healthcare for adult undocumented immigrants, which would have bankrupted Medical Assistance and Minnesota Care for our most vulnerable citizens,” said Robbins. “It’s not everything we hoped for, but we made substantial progress on reigning in the out-of-control spending. It’s unfortunate that a special session was necessary, but had Democrats shown up for work back in January, it could have been avoided.”
Republicans also secured reforms to reduce fraud and waste in government programs and made major progress on streamlining permitting processes that have long stifled economic development.
Other key victories included protecting county and local government aid, preserving non-public pupil aid for students and families, and stopping a proposed $93 million shift in county transportation funds from roads and bridges to the Met Council’s transit projects. Republicans also extended unemployment benefits for laid-off Iron Range miners and achieved small but important changes to help employers struggling to implement the expensive new Paid Family & Medical Leave and Earned Sick & Safe Time laws.
Still, Rep. Robbins acknowledged there were disappointments. Efforts to repeal burdensome mandates on businesses, schools, and local governments fell short, as did proposals to establish a statewide Office of the Inspector General to root out government waste. Provisions to protect girls’ sports and reduce taxes on charitable gaming for veterans and nonprofits were also blocked by House Democrats.
“We held the line where we could, but the reality is that a tied House limited what we could get over the finish line – everything fails on a tie,” Robbins added. “Still, we were able to secure real wins that Minnesotans can be proud of, including the largest spending reduction in state history and ensuring that Minnesota families and seniors will not see a tax increase this year. There is still work to do next year, but I think we can be proud of what we accomplished. It is only the second time in state history we have had a tie in the House.“
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