 Dear Neighbors, I’ve had some time to process the legislative session since my last update (see below) and also went on a fantastic trip to Germany with a clean energy delegation, organized by the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment. This is a trip I’ve done before. Minnesota’s had a relationship with the North Rhine-Westphalia state in Northern Germany for over a decade. There are exchanges at the city, university, and policy levels, and it is just a wonderful and incredibly valuable program. The 18-person delegation included folks from the University of MN, businesses (Centerpoint, Ever-Green Energy, US Solar), the Public Utilities Commission, MN state agencies (Department of Commerce, Administration), and legislators. Our trip included tours and discussions related to: - Building energy efficiency.
- Virtual Power Plants.
- Green Hydrogen and Industrial Decarbonization.
- Saerbeck - a 7,000-person community that is on track to decarbonize by 2030 and already produces 400% of its electricity needs at its bio-energy park.
- Warendorf - a historic community that is putting in a geothermal system powered by river water.
- “Battery City Muenster”.
- Electric Grid - Transmission challenges.
- “Sustainable data centers” providing carbon-free heating to communities.
- Municipal heat plans.
 The delegation  Bio-energy Park in Saerbeck  Geothermal in Warendorf  Minnesota store in Germany!  And, of course, there was gelato! One of the best things about this trip is that we learned from our German hosts and shared ideas with smart clean energy people from Minnesota. There are many ideas that are coming from this trip that will find their way into future legislation (as has happened in the past, for example, the first time I heard about plugin or balcony solar was in Germany!) Session DebriefWhile I'm proud of what we accomplished despite the tied House, overall, the session was deeply unsatisfying. First, the good stuff: we passed some major accomplishments that secured critical investments to strengthen our communities, improve public safety, protect consumers, and keep Minnesota moving forward.  One of our biggest achievements was passing a $1.2 billion capital investment bill that creates thousands of good-paying jobs while improving roads, bridges, drinking water systems, parks, trails, and other vital infrastructure across Minnesota. Included in this is $5.1 million for the Oxford and Louisiana Area Infrastructure Project in St. Louis Park (by the way, if not included in the capital investment bill, this amount probably would have been funded with property taxes). We also secured emergency funding to keep Hennepin County Medical Center operating. HCMC serves patients from every corner of Minnesota, providing specialized trauma and emergency care that countless families depend on during life's most critical moments. Protecting this essential institution was one of our highest priorities. We also made important progress through: - Passing some of the strongest fraud prevention in the nation, strengthening Medicaid fraud investigation capacity, improving oversight, and modernizing accountability systems.
- Protecting patients by preventing insurance companies from using A.I. to unfairly deny or delay needed medical care.
- Helping Minnesota families weather economic hardship through $40M of emergency rental assistance.
- Reducing property taxes by increasing refunds to help offset rising costs facing homeowners.
- Strengthening protections for children online by addressing harmful social media practices.
- Investing in school safety through grants and an anonymous threat reporting system that allows students, parents, and educators to report concerning behavior before tragedies occur.
- Prohibiting manipulative prediction markets that exploit consumers and undermine fair markets.
- Protecting disability rights by strengthening accommodations under the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
- Helping Minnesota better prepare for federal Medicaid cuts by strengthening our state's health care system.
And yet, the session was deeply unsatisfying because too many opportunities never became law as House Republicans chose to stand with powerful special interests. We could have taken meaningful steps to lower housing costs by preventing large private equity firms from buying hundreds of single-family homes and driving up prices for everyone else. We could have held pharmaceutical companies accountable for practices that hurt local hospitals and patients. We could have enacted additional common-sense gun safety measures following the tragic shooting at Annunciation School. The Annunciation parents who joined us in the chamber deserved action, but proposals to prevent future tragedies were never given the opportunity to move forward due to Republican blockage. We also should have done more to address the impacts of the ICE occupation on Minnesota communities. Efforts to investigate serious incidents, support affected small businesses, and establish commonsense protections around schools were also blocked by Republicans. Unfortunately, more than a dozen additional proposals to lower the cost of health care, child care, groceries, energy, and other essentials were also stopped before they could reach the finish line. We achieved some solid progress, but can you imagine what we could accomplish with just one more vote committed to putting Minnesota families first?  My BillsIt was also a mixed bag with the bills that I authored. Four of them did pass into law, but other key policies did not. Bills that became law - Oxford St. / Louisiana Ave reconstruction
- $5.1M bonding for the reconstruction of a key and regionally significant intersection in St. Louis Park (paired with Rep Youakim).
- Repair existing infrastructure, remove barriers to active transportation and transit, reduce flooding and improve Minnehaha Creek water quality, and promote climate preparedness.
- Special liquor license for West End
- Allows for a West End food hall with a business model that has multiple food stations and a unique way of selling alcohol.
- Exciting new destination for St. Louis Park! More announcements likely soon.
- DWI Policy - Ignition Interlock update & Department of Vehicle Services updates
- Addressed technical issues to make sure ignition interlock policies passed in 2025 (this was the bill I worked on after the Park Tavern tragedy) properly account for out-of-state offenses and adds privacy protections to designations on certain types of drivers licenses.
- Ensures there are no loopholes in our DWI policy and protects the privacy of Minnesotans.
- Excavation - Improved and electronic communication
- Requires “electronic positive response” in communications between excavators, underground facility owners, and companies that mark underground facilities. Strangely, I’ve become kind of an excavation expert in the legislature, given the work I did in 2024 overhauling and modernizing our excavation-related statute.
- Improved excavation safety.
Key bills that did not pass (I intend to bring these back next year.) - Plugin Solar - Can save money on energy bills by creating a low-cost and simple way for more Minnesotans to benefit from the cost savings of producing their own electricity with Plugin Solar. It would allow individuals, including renters, to purchase, install, and generate power by plugging a solar panel directly into their home electrical system.
- Allowing geothermal energy to be bonded for by local governments - Would have allowed local governments to bond for geothermal energy networks, systems that use the ground to efficiently heat and cool groups of buildings. They are long-lived public infrastructure, just like water, sewer, and district energy. Was actually passed on the House floor by a 117-16 vote, but did not make it to the Senate floor.
- Expanding Energy Assistance for Minnesota Families - Would expand Minnesota’s energy assistance programs, because only about 25% of eligible households receive assistance, while Minnesotans are more than $100 million behind on utility bills and shutoffs are rising. This passed in the Senate as part of their Energy Omnibus bill, but due to Republican opposition, it didn’t pass the House.
- Virtual Power Plants - Would save all ratepayers money by making our electrical grid more efficient by leveraging energy devices in people’s homes and businesses (i.e. batteries, EVs, thermostats, electric water heaters) that can send electricity back into the grid when it’s needed or shift when they use electricity from the grid.
- Clean Heat from Wastewater - Would pilot and study how to leverage an almost entirely untapped source of renewable heat that already exists in hundreds of MN communities around the state, wastewater. This was heard in the Energy Committee and laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill, but there wound up not being such a bill.
- Seal of Climate Literacy - Would create a nonpartisan high school diploma endorsement that honors students with the knowledge, skills, and leadership to thrive in a changing world. Was heard in the Education Policy Committee and laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill, but that did not happen.
- Super Speeders - Would save lives by cracking down on egregious speeders by requiring them to install an Intelligent Speed Assist device in their cars for a period of time that prevents going over the speed limit. Passed the Transportation Committee but did not pass the Judiciary Committee due to Republican opposition.
- EV tab fees reduced - Would have reduced EV annual tab fees to something reasonable and made up any funds lost by adding a weight based surcharge on heavy vehicles, which cause more wear and tear on roads and cause more injuries and death when in an accident. This was heard in the Transportation Committee but did not have any Republican support.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve our community. I hope you all had an enjoyable 4th of July, as our country had its 250th birthday. I remain committed to listening, working hard, and fighting for policies that make Minnesota a better place to live, work, and raise a family. |