Hello from the State Capitol,
The 2026 legislative session is underway! Lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Tuesday and committee work began Wednesday morning. Session this year will last only 90 days, and while some may argue whether that’s a good or bad thing, the reality is if we’re going to accomplish anything, we need to focus and work quickly.
Every lawmaker has a to-do list for this session, and I am no different. My priorities are:
Fraud: With an estimated $9 billion – at least – already swindled from the taxpayers, sitting around and pretending fraud isn’t that big of deal is no longer an option. For Governor Walz to try and downplay the problem by saying “this fraud thing happens in every state” is shameful. We need to turn off the fraud faucet and start holding these thieves and those who enabled them accountable.
Mandate relief: Local governments and school districts are losing money thanks to an unbelievable number of costly mandates being forced upon them by state government. And when their costs go up, so do your property taxes.
Lower taxes: Minnesota is one of the least tax friendly states in the nation. You should be keeping more of what you earn; state government has more than enough of your money already.
Voter integrity: With new fraud theft reports coming out almost weekly, do we really believe that there is no election fraud taking place in this state? Just this week we learned that 7,779 “challenged” voters are sitting on the Hennepin County voter rolls, with questions about their eligibility to vote.
It was also discovered Hennepin County has voters in large numbers with the same address, voters with the same name and address with two voter identifications, and 503 active voters listed with an age of 100 or older. Does this sound on the level to you? And that’s just one county! Election integrity is critical, and it’s clear we have work to do to secure it.
So, what are your legislative priorities this year? As session moves ahead, please contact me with any legislative questions or concerns. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-1069 or by e-mail at rep.drew.roach@house.mn.gov.
In liberty,
Drew