ALEXANDRIA — Following weeks of negotiations, state legislators met in St. Paul on June 9 to pass outstanding bills before the end of the biennium on June 30. Illegal immigrant healthcare rollback
Sunsets the free healthcare program for adult undocumented immigrants beginning on January 1, 2026, and closes enrollment for adults now. Health and children and families finance
Funds rural emergency medical service (such as ambulances) and hospitals; stops massive fee/surcharge hikes on healthcare, and increases protections for child safety. Commerce finance
Blocks healthcare mandates and continues to fund reinsurance. Human services finance
Addresses potential fraud by billing practices for substance use disorder providers based on length of service time and rejects costly shifts to counties in waiver rate exceptions. Education finance and policy
Reaffirms commitment to educational choice by protecting non-public pupil aid and enshrines the Science of Reading language into standards, a proven strategy for literacy. Blocks cuts to non-public schools. Provides meaningful relief for schools that have been struggling with the many mandates that were passed last year, which have pulled funds and attention away from students in the classroom. Transportation finance
There were no cuts to state road construction and maintenance; instead, the bill makes cuts to expensive and inefficient train lines such as the Blue Line, Fransons said. Tax bill
No tax increases for Minnesotan families, specifically in income tax rates or the general sales tax rate. "We were able to protect local government aid (LGA) and CPA (new pathways to license certified public accountants)." Bonding general obligation and cash bills
Provides $206 million for clean water and drinking water projects as well as $86.5 million for roads and bridges, including funding for projects in Greater Minnesota. It also blocks political handouts, which are typically included in bonding bills and take away from critical funding for roads, bridges, clean water, etc., Franson said. Environment finance
Reduces fishing license fees for disabled veterans, makes the bass fishing season continuous, and includes meaningful permitting reform, Franson said. She added the permitting reform will modify the current Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's permitting process to make it easier for businesses to navigate with certainty, from firm time lines to clarifying the process for expedited permitting. Data center bill
Creates a "very large customer" class with the PUC (Public Utilities Commission), requires high-water-use data centers (100M+ gallons/year) to submit pre-application info to the Department of Natural Resources, imposes a new fee on large-scale centers to support the Energy and Conservation Account, and extends the IT sales tax exemption to 35 years. Higher education finance
Makes appropriate cuts to address the $239M shortfall in the State Grant Program and does so while minimizing the impact on individual students. Labor bill
The greatest provision in this bill, Franson said, is the unemployment insurance benefit extension for miners. Additionally, it includes language pertaining to non-competes and telecom installers. "I am proud of the work that we were able to accomplish, but we will continue fighting this interim and into next session," Franson said in a news release. "If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government, please feel free to contact me at either 651-296-3201 or [email protected]."
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Sunsets the free healthcare program for adult undocumented immigrants beginning on January 1, 2026, and closes enrollment for adults now. Health and children and families finance
Funds rural emergency medical service (such as ambulances) and hospitals; stops massive fee/surcharge hikes on healthcare, and increases protections for child safety. Commerce finance
Blocks healthcare mandates and continues to fund reinsurance. Human services finance
Addresses potential fraud by billing practices for substance use disorder providers based on length of service time and rejects costly shifts to counties in waiver rate exceptions. Education finance and policy
Reaffirms commitment to educational choice by protecting non-public pupil aid and enshrines the Science of Reading language into standards, a proven strategy for literacy. Blocks cuts to non-public schools. Provides meaningful relief for schools that have been struggling with the many mandates that were passed last year, which have pulled funds and attention away from students in the classroom. Transportation finance
There were no cuts to state road construction and maintenance; instead, the bill makes cuts to expensive and inefficient train lines such as the Blue Line, Fransons said. Tax bill
No tax increases for Minnesotan families, specifically in income tax rates or the general sales tax rate. "We were able to protect local government aid (LGA) and CPA (new pathways to license certified public accountants)." Bonding general obligation and cash bills
Provides $206 million for clean water and drinking water projects as well as $86.5 million for roads and bridges, including funding for projects in Greater Minnesota. It also blocks political handouts, which are typically included in bonding bills and take away from critical funding for roads, bridges, clean water, etc., Franson said. Environment finance
Reduces fishing license fees for disabled veterans, makes the bass fishing season continuous, and includes meaningful permitting reform, Franson said. She added the permitting reform will modify the current Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's permitting process to make it easier for businesses to navigate with certainty, from firm time lines to clarifying the process for expedited permitting. Data center bill
Creates a "very large customer" class with the PUC (Public Utilities Commission), requires high-water-use data centers (100M+ gallons/year) to submit pre-application info to the Department of Natural Resources, imposes a new fee on large-scale centers to support the Energy and Conservation Account, and extends the IT sales tax exemption to 35 years. Higher education finance
Makes appropriate cuts to address the $239M shortfall in the State Grant Program and does so while minimizing the impact on individual students. Labor bill
The greatest provision in this bill, Franson said, is the unemployment insurance benefit extension for miners. Additionally, it includes language pertaining to non-competes and telecom installers. "I am proud of the work that we were able to accomplish, but we will continue fighting this interim and into next session," Franson said in a news release. "If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government, please feel free to contact me at either 651-296-3201 or [email protected]."
