 Neighbors, Well, the 2026 legislative session just ended, and it has been a pretty emotional and jam-packed final week. I’ll have more to say soon, but I wanted to get out key highlights immediately. I also want to make sure you get on your calendars our post-session town hall, which will be on Wednesday, May 27th 6:30-8pm at St. Louis Park City Hall.  Gun Violence PreventionOn May 4th, the Senate passed a comprehensive gun violence prevention package and sent it to the House for consideration. The normal procedure is for the Speaker to report the bill and then for the House to take it up, either on the floor or in an appropriate committee. But with this bill, SF4067, nothing happened. It literally was hidden away in a drawer somewhere and never reported. Having already passed the Senate, the bill would have needed just one House Republican to vote for it to become law. Rather than risk that happening in a simple up or down vote, Speaker Demuth just ignored the bill and pretended it didn’t exist. So, we DFLers did two things. First, we made a motion during session on Thursday to suspend the rules and force the bill to be calendared for debate and a vote. My colleagues and I shared stories about how gun violence has impacted Minnesotans across the state. With the assassinations of Melissa and Mark Hortman last June, members of the Minnesota legislature have now directly experienced the trauma of gun violence. It is sobering to realize that probably most people in this country have either experienced it or know someone that has. We have to remember that it doesn’t have to be this way - in fact in most countries it is not. Suspending the rules as we tried to do requires a two-thirds majority (90 votes to pass), and it failed on a party-line 67-67 vote.  The second thing we did was take control of the House floor after session on Thursday at 9pm and held it for 39 hours with a sit-in, until Saturday at noon. When we started this session, because of what we’re hearing from Minnesotans, we committed to use every bit of power that we have to try and take action on gun violence prevention. Our demand was that Speaker Demuth hold the vote on the gun bill. During our sit-in, we were often joined remotely for interviews and on our livestream by other elected leaders, gun violence prevention advocates, and Minnesotans like the Annunciation parents who have had their lives upended by gun violence. Meeting and hearing the stories of the Annunciation parents was heartbreaking. No one should have to go through what they have, and DFLers are taking action to make that a reality. Speaker Demuth continued to ignore the will of Minnesotans, and went back on her commitment to Annunciation parents to allow a gun violence prevention bill to come to the floor for a vote. The bill remains hidden away. But, I’m confident that the outpouring of support we received from Minnesotans is a turning point. We will see. HCMC Agreement Legislative leaders reached a bipartisan supplemental budget agreement that takes important steps to strengthen Minnesota’s health care system and ensure the long-term stability of Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). This agreement reflects the values Minnesotans expect, and we’re reinforcing fiscal stability while delivering historic, bipartisan support for HCMC, a cornerstone of our health care system and a vital safety net for families across the region. HCMC serves patients from every corner of Minnesota, providing critical care and specialized services that keep our entire health care system strong. Ensuring its long-term health is essential not only for Hennepin County, but for communities statewide. Even before the disastrous cuts to Medicaid in HR1, Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill” that passed last summer, the payments received by hospitals for Medicaid/Medicare are no longer enough to cover costs. It is beyond time that we move to a single payer universal health care system in this country. And if we can’t do it nationwide, then we should do it in Minnesota (and we can!) Minnesota has always believed in a strong, reliable health care safety net. This agreement reaffirms that commitment and ensures that every Minnesotan can continue to get the care they need, when they need it. Update on Fraud BillsThis year, the House DFL focused on an anti-fraud agenda. Let’s be clear - fighting fraud is not about shaking fists or scapegoating communities. It’s about putting in the hard work to fix the problem. I worked alongside my House DFL colleagues to craft a network of interconnected policies that aim to prevent fraud before it happens, increase oversight of vulnerable programs, recover stolen funds, and help ensure service continuity for those in need. Perhaps the most visible bill you might have heard about is the one that passed that creates a new Office of Inspector General (OIG). It was strongly bi-partisan, and my DFL colleague Matt Norris, the bill author in the House, did a fantastic job at working the bill and improving it from what was passed by the Senate. However, I was one of the five votes against the bill, because it is expensive ($11-$12M per year), creates new bureaucracy including a new law enforcement function that I believe isn’t necessary, and because I think the money could be put to better use investing in modernizing our systems. That said, reasonable people can disagree on the OIG, and there are a whole host of policies that were passed to stop fraud. I will continue to advocate for responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars through the committee process and on the floor, urging increases to accountability mechanisms for legislatively funded grants and pushing back against unaccountable, direct grants to private entities.  |