 Dear Neighbors,
As we enter the 2026 session there is a lot that we need to take on in order to improve the lives of Minnesotans. By standing up to authoritarianism and greed, we can make a better Minnesota.
While I’m excited to continue our work delivering for Minnesotans this year, we did start off on a solemn note. This is the first session in 20 years where Melissa Hortman is absent. We honored Melissa and her beloved husband, Mark, and pup Gilbert, with a remembrance ceremony, where I was humbled to read a few words of the Hortman Memorial Resolution. The Hortman’s leave behind a legacy of fierce advocacy for the everyday Minnesotan and I hope we will honor that legacy this session.
 Under DFL leadership and our fiscally responsible policies, February’s projected balance is now $3.7 billion for the 2026-27 fiscal year. While this is an optimistic report, we know that continued federal disruptions and the recent cut to Medicaid payments will have a dire impact on our elders and vulnerable communities. We will do everything we can to ensure our work is centered on addressing the urgent needs of our neighbors across our state.
Being an even-numbered year in the legislative biennium, it’s constitutionally the shorter of the two sessions. It’s also more focused on policy, given that last year’s focus was on our two-year state budget. As I take stock at this point in the legislative session, we need to be doing more to address affordability, make our schools and communities safer, protect state dollars and hold bad actors accountable, and deliver on the infrastructure needs of communities throughout Minnesota.
Committee work is in full swing and we’ve also begun passing bills off to the House Floor. With 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans in the House, all bills that advance to a full House vote must have bipartisan backing. Since we gaveled into the 2026 legislative session on February 17th, my DFL colleagues and I have been hitting the ground running introducing bills addressing fraud, gun violence prevention, and holding ICE and federal entities accountable and creating a road to recovery, starting with work I am championing to deploy emergency assistance for renters and small businesses.
ICE OUT EVERYWHERE
We are justice-loving people. Thank you team for the Senate Hearing on the ICE impacts in Minnesota. I had the honor of representing Minnesota at our ICE OUT national press conference detailing our collaborations on state legislation to hold federal agents accountable for their crimes, reasserting state and Treaty rights, and creating systems that work for the many, not the money.
 A slate of ICE OUT bills has been introduced in committees, but in a tied House, we’re facing severe challenges and roadblocks. We’re calling on Minnesota Republicans to join us—and all Minnesotans—in recognizing that no person in this state is exempt from the U.S. Constitution. It does not matter who you are, why you are here, or how you arrived. If you are here, you are covered by the protections of the United States Constitution.
Affordable Housing and Rent Assistance
Housing across Minnesota is too sparse and too expensive. I'm working with my DFL colleagues to pass sweeping affordability reforms and solutions to ensure every Minnesotan has a place to call home. In the first few weeks, I’ve already chaired the committee numerous times and presented multiple urgent proposals in committee and on the House floor— including $50M in rental assistance and a state-wide HOME Line tenant hotline to give more resources to tenants & landlords and to prevent a cascade of evictions.
As the DFL Vice Chair of the Housing Committee, I’m especially dedicated to ensuring Minnesotans don’t break the bank just to have a roof over their heads. In addition to the solutions listed above, I’d also add our bipartisan efforts to create more diversity in our state’s housing options. Last week in committee, we held an informational hearing on the Starter Homes Act (which includes my bill to accelerate deeply affordable multi-unit housing) an all-too-rare example of both sides of the aisle, legislators from all over the state, coming together to meet the needs of Minnesotans. There’s more work to be done to get this over the finish line, but we continue to build a coalition behind this legislation. If there was ever a time to deliver affordable homes to Minnesotans, this is it.
We’ve heard from thousands of Minnesotans across the state who are facing housing instability, rising evictions, rising utility bills, and looming foreclosures. House Democrats motioned to suspend the rules on the House Floor to debate my legislation for $40M in one-time Emergency Rental Assistance to Counties and Tribal Nations to help prevent evictions. The bill would have reallocated funds from the Geraldine Tyler settlement, having zero impact to the state's general budget.
The motion to suspend the rules did not pass, with every House Republican voting against it with a 67-67 vote. It passed with Republican support in the Senate. Unfortunately, after we brought forward our bipartisan bill to deliver rental assistance, every House Republican voted it down. Minnesotans stepped up to support their neighbors. It’s time we show them their state government can do the same. Watch the floor hearing here.
Affordability Plan
Working hard and playing by the rules should mean that your family can afford their life and get ahead. But the reality is that this “deal” is broken. The problem is that our economic system is rigged against regular Minnesotans, with an ever-growing gap between the ultra-wealthy and everyone else. Meanwhile, Trump has dragged us all into an immoral, illegal, and expensive war with Iran. We are facing immense domestic economic issues yet he would rather spend billions on a war no American asked for. Now gas prices are rising, putting a dent in your wallet.
In the House, I’m working with my DFL colleagues to deliver on a package of bills designed to make day-to-day living a bit more affordable. Housing, child care, health care, you name it, we have a plan to bring costs down for you and your family. Corporations and billionaires have profited far too much at our expense. I will work to reverse that trend by passing legislation that directly improves your quality of life by making sure we are on a more equal playing field.
You can read more about our Affordability Plan here.
Proposals to Combat Fraud
DFLers are taking on the bad actors who cheat Minnesotans out of public resources and steal from Minnesota taxpayers. We’re working to solve these problems because any sort of fraudulent activity is wrong. Instead of pointing fingers and placing blame on a particular group of people, we need strong solutions that not only hold fraudsters accountable, but importantly, prevent it from happening in the first place. I’ll continue advocating for our most vulnerable communities and everyone impacted by cuts to life-saving programs and services.
Please click on the links below to view handouts highlighting the work DFLers have passed over the last couple of years to address fraud, improve systems, and increase transparency.
I’m encouraged that the House, Senate, and Governor have all released their legislative anti-fraud packages. Everyone agrees: any sort of fraud impacting our most vulnerable neighbors is completely unacceptable. While we have some differences in how to approach this issue, the work continues and we have until May 18th (last day of session) to forge compromises and pass a strong bill.
Passing Bills off the House Floor
Even though many important bills have not been able to move ahead due to partisan differences, we have reached agreements on a couple of important bills.
One of the first bills we passed renamed Minnesota’s Community Solar Garden Program for Speaker Emerita, and former Energy Committee chair, Melissa Hortman. In 2013, Melissa authored the law that established the Community Solar Garden Program and set the state’s solar standard, helping to increase the state’s use of solar power.
We also passed a bill that addresses a crisis caused by the Trump administration. In one of their many senseless budget cuts, a crucial program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development was impacted, leaving Minnesota’s supportive housing providers in limbo. These providers are crucial in assisting Minnesotans struggling with housing security throughout the state, and unless we acted fast, we would be in a homelessness crisis. The bill we passed directs $9 million dollars to these supportive housing providers, ensuring that their doors can stay open to support our neighbors through this year.
This is another example of the retribution the feds are imposing on Minnesota, requiring Minnesota to step up to provide emergency gap coverage. We’re doing the best we can with a modest state budget, but with the rate of uninsured in Minnesota climbing to the highest level in 6 years, an average gas price now more than 80 cents higher than one month ago, $160 billion in federal tariffs taken from Minnesotans, and rapidly rising energy costs, there’s more we must do, together, to expand our state economy and grow Minnesota’s shrinking middle class.
Child Tax Credit Reminder
If you’re still working on your 2025 taxes and have children, please don’t forget about the Child Tax Credit! It is NOT automatic. So far this year, more than 154,000 tax returns have claimed the Child Tax Credit, benefiting over 318,000 children across Minnesota. Families are receiving an average credit of $2,669. The credit is estimated to reduce child poverty by up to a third in Minnesota, making it one of the most impactful investments DFLers protected amid federal cuts.
Learn more about eligibility here.
Community at the Capitol
Grateful to kick off the session “Opening Day in a Good way” with Rise & Repair Coalition. We’ve also been organizing up with advocates, including from greater Minnesota, who are rightly demanding that lawmakers center community voice, holistic safeguards, and curbs on hyperscale data center development while we assess what guardrails need to be in place to protect our people, workers, and environment across the state.
HEAPER is cheaper! Duluth area college students were down advocating for a robust Bonding bill that includes supporting accessibility for students, staff, and community. We also hosted social work leaders and students on the hill in advocacy of policies and investments that protect and provide for Social Workers and the community.
The Duluth delegation prioritizes our time and fights alongside childcare leaders and workers from labor unions from SEIU, AFSCME, to Minnesota Nurses Association. Nurses are the backbone of our health care system, and they deserve safe, enforceable staffing levels and a real voice on the job.
Let’s Stay Connected!
With session underway, the Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services will once again be offering nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication. Subscribe to receive these here. To track bills of interest through the legislative process, I encourage you to utilize the MyBills feature on the Minnesota House of Representatives’ website. You can also visit my House of Representatives website.
For broader legislative information, you can access the Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services for nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication.
It is an honor to represent our district at the Capitol. Please always feel free to contact me at 651-296-2228 or rep.liish.kozlowski@house.mn.gov.You’ll hear back from me or our Legislative Assistant, Alex. Don’t forget to follow my Facebook page for updates from the Legislature.
Minnesota House of Representatives
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