Legislative Update - Save the Date, Town Hall on March 22

Dear Neighbors,

If you’re free on Saturday, March 22, I hope you’ll consider joining Sen. Frentz and I for a Senate District 18 Town Hall! We’ll be at the Intergovernmental Center in the Mankato Room, starting at 10am.

I’d like to note that this is an event open to all constituents in our district, and to that end we’ve invited Minnesota House GOP Rep. Erica Schwartz and Congressman Brad Finstad to join us as well - we haven’t heard back from them yet, but I hope they can make it. I’m sure our community would like to hear from them, too.

Regardless of who shows up, we’ve got a lot to cover. We’ll provide an update on the latest in the Minnesota House and Senate, give an overview of the legislation we’re working on, and answer questions from the audience. I hope to see you there!
 

A Tied Minnesota House of Representatives

This week, a special election in Roseville provided clarity on something most of us have known since last November: voters delivered a tied Minnesota House of Representatives.

DFL Rep-elect David Gottfried will join us in the Minnesota House next week, returning the body to an even 67-67 split. The bipartisan power-sharing agreement my DFL colleagues and I fought for ensures that the governing of the House will now reflect that tie, with committees having balanced membership and DFL and GOP co-chairs. For me, I’ll assume my role as DFL Vice Chair of the House Capital Investment Committee next week.

This means that bills don’t only need bipartisan support to pass the House - as has always been the case this session - they now need bipartisan support to even pass committees. Ideally, this would mean that we’re spending less time on hyper-partisan bills that have no chance of passing the House, which has been the case too many times these last few weeks.

That’s not to say these last few weeks have been unproductive. Even without a tie, I was still able to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to have my legislation heard in committee. This week, I presented a bill to the Commerce Committee that would allow MSU to sell wine and beer at the Taylor Center.

A tied House will be a unique, historic experience. I’m looking forward to turning this new page and focusing on the common-ground solutions that Minnesotans are asking for.
 

Real ID Taking Effect in May

For real this time - beginning May 7, 2025, Minnesotans 18 years of age or older will not be able to use their standard driver's license or identification card to board domestic flights or enter certain federal facilities. Instead, they will need one of three options:

• Minnesota REAL ID driver's license or identification card.
• Minnesota Enhanced driver's license or identification card.
• Other federally-approved forms of identification. They are listed online here, but include:
  • U.S. passport or passport card
  • Foreign government-issued passport
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
  • Permanent resident card
  • Border crossing card
  • Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID
  • U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents

If you are not sure which license type is right for you, check out the Driver Vehicle Services’ website here.
 

Stay Connected

With session underway, the Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services will once again be offering nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication. Subscribe to receive these here. To track bills of interest through the legislative process, I encourage you to utilize the MyBills feature on the Minnesota House of Representatives’ website. You can also visit my House of Representatives website.

Regardless of whether you can join us at our Town Hall, I welcome your questions and comments anytime. Also, be sure to let me know if you’re coming down to the Capitol! We had multiple “Days on the Hill” this week, including the “Homelessness Day on the Hill.” Folks from Mankato came up to have their voices heard on this important issue. Everyone deserves a safe and secure place to call home. 

You can send an email to rep.luke.frederick@house.mn.gov or call me at (651) 296-3248. Also, please visit and “like” my Facebook page for more Capitol and community updates.

Thank you for the privilege of representing you in the legislature.

Sincerely, 

Luke Frederick

State Representative