ST. PAUL — Minnesota lawmakers are in the final stretch to the May 19 end-of-session deadline with hopes of getting a budget and bonding bill across the finish line. Leaders of the House and Senate continue to meet for hours each day with Gov. Tim Walz to negotiate budget target discrepancies — as late as 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday. As leaders negotiate, lawmakers continue to push budget bills off the floor, while Minnesotans are showing up to the Capitol to protest potential cuts.
Private, non-public schools rally to push back against proposed budget cuts
Hundreds with private and nonpublic schools rallied on Wednesday, May 7, against proposed budget cuts for the schools in this session’s budget. Gov. Tim Walz’s budget proposal for fiscal years 2026-27 carves out $52 million in cuts for nonpublic pupil education aid and $57 million for nonpublic pupil transportation,
a total of $109 million over two years . The Senate is proposing
$105 million in cuts for non-public schools, while the House has proposed no cuts. “These proposed cuts would leave students stranded at the bus stop, unable to access critical mental health support and without needed textbooks and other classroom tools,” Tim Benz, President of Minndependent said. “We urge lawmakers to stand up for Minnesota Students and fully support non-public students and families.” At an unrelated press conference on Thursday, Walz stood by the proposals to cut nonpublic funding as the state stares down a $6 billion budget deficit down the road. “I certainly respect parents' decisions about their children's education, but our first and fundamental responsibility is for public education,” Walz said Thursday. “And as we see across the country, this movement to voucherize public education, I think here in Minnesota, we need to stay focused on what our core job is, and make sure that we're funding that accordingly.”
Senate passes statewide Office of Inspector General
The Senate passed a bill 60-7 to create an Office of Inspector General (OIG) on Thursday, aimed at combatting fraud and abuse of government funds. The bill,
SF856 , co-authored by Sens. Heather Gustafson, DFL-Vadnais Heights, and Michael Kreun, R-Blaine, would create a
statewide OIG office to conduct investigations and audits and oversee ethical and financial standards for any public or private state entity that receives governmental funding. Currently, there are independent OIG offices within Minnesota Health and Human Services and the Minnesota Department of Education. “One of the most important responsibilities of state government is protecting the taxpayer dollar. That’s why it’s time we create an independent watchdog for Minnesotans that will identify and investigate potential fraud,” Gustafson said in a statement following passage. “This Office of the Inspector General is a practical solution to ensure accountability, transparency, and fiscal responsibility in state government.” Though it passed comfortably, not everyone was on board with passing the bill. Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Champlin, said on the floor Thursday that “although it's a great front page of a newspaper article, it's not ready for prime time.” Sen. Zach Duckworth, R-Lakeville, supports the measure but said he is concerned that the bill won’t “get across the finish line,” this session as it heads to the House. “As much as this seems somewhat like a victory lap for us all here today to take a good bipartisan vote on the bill to stop fraud, we have to ensure it actually gets across the finish line by the end of session,” Duckworth said. “We can't just pass this out of the Senate and forget about it if this doesn't go all the way to the governor's desk and reluctantly get his signature, then we will have failed the people of Minnesota.”
Senate passes Homeowners Association Reform
The Senate passed a bipartisian bill 44-22 on Tuesday, aimed to reform homeowner associations (HOAs) across the state. The bill,
SF1750 , chief authored by Sen. Eric Lucero, R-Saint Michael, has a number of reforms, including on foreclosures. It stipulates that HOAs can no longer foreclose solely for unpaid fines — except for repeat or serious violations — and may only foreclose for unpaid assessments if the total exceeds $1,500 (or $2,500 for higher-dues properties) or is at least 120 days overdue. “Homeowners across Minnesota have been sharing their stories of experiencing exploitative fines, unjust foreclosures, decisions lacking transparency impacting their homes and finances, and more,” Lucero said. “This bill is the product of months of work to address those stories by bringing common sense reforms and balancing the scales between residents, boards, and management companies.” The bill also includes language to generally cap fines at $100 per violation, with higher fines for repeat violations in certain circumstances. Late fees are limited to $15 or 5% of the amount owed — whichever is greater. The bill now heads to the House.
Bills in motion
Several budget bills are close to the finish line and headed to conference committees this week where lawmakers from the Senate and house meet to hash out differences between the two versions:
SF3045 , the state government finance bill,
HF2446 , agriculture and broadband development policy and finance bill,
SF1959 , omnibus veterans policy and appropriations and
HF2432 judiciary, public safety and corrections policy and finance bill.
Walz signs six bills into law
HF688 Ensuring service dogs in training are exempt from HOA and apartment rules that don’t allow dogs.
SF3196 : Allocates $9 million to the Department of Corrections to address a fiscal year 2025 budget deficiency, and allows the Department of Corrections to reallocate $10 million from unspent appropriations.
HF1014 : Allows the board of directors of the Minnesota Insurance Guarantee Association to request financial information from an insured person.
SF571 : Makes changes to streamline procedures with the Minnesota Trust Code.
HF1163 : Clarifies the types of care that are eligible for reimbursement under the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program, adds peer-to-peer counseling.
