Dear Neighbors, It’s a busy time at the Minnesota Legislature as we work to pass our budget bills. At this point, we’ve passed most of the House’s proposals, and will continue to pass more throughout the week. As of today, we’ve passed 14 House Budgets. You can read nonpartisan descriptions of these bills and our floor debates here: I want to emphasize that these are all bipartisan bills. Nothing can pass in the House this year without a mix of DFL and GOP support, so while I wouldn’t consider these bills perfect, most of them are good enough to earn my vote. Our Transportation Budget is one of the bills I’ve voted against. In my opinion, it doesn’t do enough for greater Minnesota transit, and falls woefully short of what we need to do to address climate change. I also voted against the Veterans Budget because it reduces support for our veterans grappling with homelessness by 85%! A core part of my work in the legislature is my commitment to end homelessness. We’re faced with a tricky financial situation, but we can’t balance our budget on the backs of veterans sleeping out on the streets. The good news is none of these bills are final - we still have to work with the Senate to reconcile the differences between our budget proposals. After we do that, we’ll pass these bills a final time and send them to Governor Walz. We’re in the final days of the 2025 Legislative Session, and I’ll be spending them fighting for the best possible budget for Moorhead and Minnesota. Our Human Service Budget As a member of the Human Services Finance and Policy Committee, I want to highlight that budget specifically, as it’s one I had a hand in helping to craft. Our committee’s bill is a reflection of our need to grapple with uncertain federal funding and the growing number of Minnesotans that rely on these services. It doesn’t do enough, but in the current situation we find ourselves it’s what we could get passed in a tied House. We should be investing more into Human Services, not less, and while this budget doesn’t meet all of Minnesota’s needs, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to put together. The budget includes several bills of mine, including bipartisan legislation to build a new psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF) for youth in Clay County. A new facility is a significant step towards addressing the shortage of beds, helping our community and the entire state. I also authored several bills addressing homelessness that made it into our House budget, including $14 million in Safe Harbor funding, conducting outreach and providing support for victims of sex trafficking; $12 million for the Homeless Youth Act, helping to get young people aged 18-24 off the street and into safe housing with supportive services; $3 million to improve emergency housing shelters throughout the state; and $1 million in emergency services program funding, comprehensive services offered to people experiencing homelessness including connecting them to mental health care, treatment for substance use disorders, and employment and skills training. I spoke to the importance of Safe Harbor funding in multiple committee hearings, and you can watch some of my remarks here. |