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March 28, 2025
Legislative Update
Friends and Neighbors,
We’ve been hard at work at the State Capitol as legislative deadlines quickly approach. The First and Second Committee Deadlines—April 4th and April 11th—are fast approaching, meaning any legislation that hasn’t cleared committee by then is essentially dead for the year. Republicans continue to prioritize making Minnesota more affordable and rooting out the waste, fraud, and abuse of tax dollars.
Unfortunately, Governor Walz and House Democrats are pushing priorities that threaten our seniors, students, and vulnerable Minnesotans—all while setting up future tax hikes. I want to take a moment to walk you through what’s at stake.
Governor Walz’s Budget: The Consequences of Overspending
Minnesota is facing a projected $6 billion budget deficit—and it’s not because taxpayers aren’t paying enough. It’s because Democrats in St. Paul spent too much, too fast. After burning through a historic nearly $20 billion surplus and hiking taxes by an additional $10 billion, state spending exploded by more than 40% in just one budget cycle.
Now, the same administration that created this crisis is proposing painful cuts—not to bloated bureaucracy or pet projects—but to the very services Minnesotans rely on the most.
Despite passing dozens of unfunded education mandates last year, the governor’s new budget proposal walks back key investments for our children’s education. It cuts nonpublic pupil aid, which helps cover essential services for private and homeschooled students. It also slashes merit-based teacher compensation programs, penalizing schools that reward effective educators.
The budget also proposes cuts to nursing homes and long-term care facilities—at a time when the industry is still struggling to recover from the pandemic and workforce shortages. These cuts risk accelerating closures and reducing access to quality care for Minnesota’s aging population, particularly in rural areas where options are already limited.
In our district alone, three nursing homes will face massive cuts over the next four years:
 While the governor proposes these painful cuts and cost shifts, his budget still manages to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on benefits for illegal immigrants—a stark contrast to the reductions aimed at our seniors, students, and people with disabilities. On top of that, he’s pushing for yet another sales tax increase, making life more expensive for every Minnesotan.
Fraud Reform: An Unserious Proposal by the Walz Administration
This week, the Fraud Committee heard the governor’s much-publicized “fraud reform” plan. While it contains a few promising ideas, overall, the proposal falls flat and fails to address Minnesota’s systemic culture of fraud and lack of accountability.
Since 2019, Minnesota has seen at least $610 million in known fraud, including the Feeding Our Future scandal and widespread mismanagement in the Department of Human Services. And that’s just what we’ve uncovered—the real total is likely far higher.
Yet the governor’s plan throws more money at the same agencies that failed to detect or stop the fraud in the first place. It adds over 150 new positions in DHS, but only one new forensic auditor at the BCA. That’s not serious reform—it’s window dressing.
There are good elements in the proposal, like tougher penalties for kickbacks and theft of state funds. However, the proposal lacks mandatory training for grant managers, fails to hold agency leaders accountable when fraud happens on their watch, and doesn’t empower state employees to act when they spot wrongdoing.
This is a culture issue. State employees who look the other way—or worse, enable fraud—face no consequences. That has to change.
Republicans are working on serious reforms to address these failures:
- Requiring grant managers to be trained and certified.
- Ensuring whistleblowers are protected and heard.
- Creating an Independent Office of the Inspector General to investigate fraud.
- Enforcing accountability for agency staff who mismanage taxpayer dollars.
Fraud isn’t just a budget problem—it’s a trust problem. And we must restore the public’s trust.
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Hot Tubs
When families travel or groups gather for a weekend getaway, many choose to stay in short-term rentals like Airbnb or VRBO instead of traditional hotels. These properties often offer more flexibility, more space, and unique amenities that make for a better experience. One of the most popular amenities? A hot tub.
Unfortunately, Minnesota law currently bans hot tubs at short-term rental properties—not because of safety concerns, but because of outdated and overreaching public pool regulations. These rules treat a private hot tub—used only by the renting party—as if it’s a public pool, subjecting it to the same strict and unnecessary standards.
That’s absurd.
This is a clear example of government overreach standing in the way of freedom, entrepreneurship, and personal choice. Property owners should have the right to offer amenities that guests want and consumers should have the freedom to choose the kind of stay and experience they’re paying for—without the state stepping in to block it with bureaucratic red tape.
This week, I presented HF 2147 in the Health Policy Committee to fix this ridiculous regulation. You can watch the short hearing here. My bill would allow short-term rental owners to have private hot tubs on their properties—just like nearly every hotel and cabin resort in the state already does.
It’s time we get government out of the way and restore a little common sense. Minnesotans deserve the freedom to run their businesses—and enjoy their vacations—without unnecessary interference from the state.
Next Friday, April 4th you are invited to a Legislative Update hosted by the Little Falls Chamber of Commerce with local legislators from 9 am to 11 am at the Morrison County Government Center in the Country Board Room. The address is: 213 1st Ave SE Little Falls, MN 56345. Hope to see you there!
That’s all for this week. Thank you for staying engaged and informed. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with your thoughts or questions—I work for you.
Have a good weekend,
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