Dear Neighbors, This week, the Minnesota Legislature passed the remaining bills to balance our state budget, funding the government and the services Minnesotans rely on for the next two years. It’s been an unconventional legislative session to say the least, with voters delivering a tied Minnesota House and a 1-vote DFL majority in the Senate. Despite this historically close split in the legislature, DFLers were successful in protecting many of the hard-fought accomplishments of the last few years that put more power in the hands of Minnesotans – not billionaires or corporate interests. That’s because our priority this year were those of working families who are struggling with a status quo that is tilted against them. To the contrary, Republicans spent the legislative session doing the bidding of billionaires and big corporate backers, working to roll back freedoms and rights of Minnesota workers. Just like President Trump, they pushed for a budget that siphons off more and more wealth for the ultra-rich while hardworking Minnesotans get less. I’ll be talking more about what we passed in the months ahead, but here’s a quick snapshot of our wins this year: PROTECTED - Paid Family and Medical Leave (coming January 2026!)
- Earned Sick and Safe Time
- Free school meals for all children
- Renters’ rights
- Child Care Tax Credit that puts more money in the pockets of working families
- Nation-leading clean energy goals including 100% clean energy by 2040
- Reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and gender-affirming care
- Caps on co-pays for prescription drugs like insulin and asthma
- Voting rights and democratic safeguards
- Gun violence prevention measures
PROGRESS - Over $700 million for infrastructure funding in a Bonding Bill, with focus on public housing rehabilitation and an innovative local housing production program
- New investments in food security
- Investments in per-pupil funding for our E-12 education to continue to catch up
- Large investments in Federally Qualified Health Centers to care for and prepare for a potential influx of uninsured Minnesotans due to Trump
- Mental Health warnings for social media platforms
- Reforms to improve access and affordability of mental health care
While I’m proud of this work, there were aspects of our final budget that I did not support. The Minnesota House took up a Republican-backed bill that eliminates the opportunity for 17,000 workers with undocumented status to buy-in to MinnesotaCare for their essential health care. This bill was a demand of Republicans who would have shut down the state government without it. That is the only reason such short-sighted and cruel policy passed the legislature. I voted no because it makes our communities more fractured, not less. No, because it makes our state weaker, not stronger. No, because it makes health care for all Minnesotans more expensive, not less. And I voted no for Emilio. You can watch my speech on the bill here. |