Hello from St. Paul,
The 2026 legislative session has begun! Shortly after gaveling in, members of the House and Senate joined together to remember former Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark. It was the first House floor session since their tragic deaths last summer, and a very nice ceremony was held to honor their memories.
I expect finding ways to stop fraud to dominate the Capitol headlines this session – and it should. With more than $9 billion already stolen – that we know about – action needs to be taken immediately.
Some proposals include creating an independent Office of the Inspector General to investigate and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in Minnesota; requiring agencies to halt payments when fraud is suspected, rather than continuing to fund bad actors; and establishing a fraud reporting hotline for state employees and the public to report suspicious activity.
On Wednesday, House committee work began in earnest. In two of the committees on which I serve, Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance and Agriculture Finance and Policy, numerous proposals are being heard.
AGRICULTURE
Minnesota’s agriculture and food industry remains the backbone of our rural communities and a driving force in our state’s economy. As we move forward, our focus is on strengthening Minnesota’s competitiveness in national and global markets, increasing the productivity and profitability of our production agriculture sector, and supporting the full range of agricultural endeavors across the state.
At the same time, we are committed to ensuring agriculture is part of the solution when it comes to environmental stewardship and improving water quality, working collaboratively to achieve practical, science-based outcomes that benefit both our farmers and our natural resources.
Minnesota’s agriculture industry includes more than 65,300 farms and generates roughly $105 billion in total sales. With a $13 billion crop sector, $8.9 billion in livestock production, and nearly $10 billion in exports, agriculture supports about 388,000 jobs and remains a cornerstone of the state’s economy.
The Ag Committee heard updates from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Board of Animal Health and AURI. Funding for elk and wolf depredation programs is becoming a growing concern. In FY26, $255,000 was appropriated for elk claims, with $217,000 already used to cover backlog and $76,000 in new claims filed, plus an additional $100,000 anticipated—creating pressure that carries into FY27, where a projected $83,000 shortfall is expected. Wolf depredation funding faces similar strain: of the $275,000 appropriated in FY26, $217,000 went toward prior-year backlog, leading to an anticipated $210,000 shortfall this year and an estimated $230,000 deficit heading into FY27.
The Board of Animal Health continues to monitor several high-priority threats, including avian influenza and avian metapneumovirus in poultry, New World screwworm, tularemia in cats and rabbits, canine brucellosis in imported dogs, and African swine fever—each posing significant risks to animal agriculture and the broader livestock industry.
ENVIRONMENT
The Environment Committee heard an update from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on the implementation of the new PFAS reporting system. Minnesota’s PFAS law, passed in 2023, created three main requirements: banning 11 consumer products, requiring manufacturers to report and pay fees on products with intentionally added PFAS by July 2026, and banning most PFAS altogether by 2032 unless deemed “currently unavoidable.”
In January, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency launched its reporting system (PRISM), but the system has faced technical problems and confusion over product categories and chemical listings.
The biggest challenge is for complex products like cars, boats, HVAC systems, and heavy equipment, which contain thousands of parts from suppliers around the world.
Manufacturers are now expected to track and report every PFAS component—even in older replacement parts that were never documented this way before. In many cases, there are no ready substitutes for PFAS, and developing alternatives can take years and significant investment, making compliance especially difficult.
LOCAL VISITS
I enjoyed the opportunity to visit with Pennington and Red Lake County corn and soybean producers in Thief River Falls before the start of the legislative session with Rep. Steve Gander.
Discussions revolved around the grain indemnity account, issues with implementation of the new Paid Family Medical Leave Program and sustainable aviation fuel.