End of Special Session Update from Rep. Igo

The special session was yesterday, and we worked diligently from 10:00am until just before 11:00pm. After weeks of negotiation, the bills were wrapped up over the weekend and Governor Walz called us back to St. Paul so we could pass the legislation off the floor. I wanted to give you all a quick breakdown of the 14 remaining bills that passed to complete Minnesota’s budget for the next biennium. 

Bills Passed 

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 & Children and Families Finance 

• Funded rural EMS and hospitals, stopped massive fee/surcharge hikes on healthcare, and increased protections for child safety.  

Commerce Finance 

• Blocked healthcare mandates and continued to fund reinsurance. 

Human Services Finance 

• Addresses potential fraud by billing practices for substance use disorder providers based on length of service time and rejected costly shifts to counties in waiver rate exceptions.  

Education Finance and Policy 

• Reaffirms our commitment to educational choice by protecting non-public pupil aid and enshrines the Science of Reading language into standards, a proven strategy for literacy. 

• 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 made cuts to expensive and inefficient train lines such as the Blue Line. 

Tax Bill 

• No tax increases for Minnesotan families, specifically in income tax rates or the general sales tax rate. We were able to protect LGA and CPA. 

Bonding GO 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. 

Environment Finance 

• Reduces fishing license fees for disabled veterans, makes the bass fishing season continuous, and includes meaningful permitting reform.  The permitting reform will modify the current MPCA permitting process to make it easier for businesses to navigate with certainty, from firm timelines to clarifying the process for expedited permitting. 

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 is the UI extension for our miners. Additionally, it includes language pertaining to non-competes and telecom installers.  

I am grateful that we were able to return to St. Paul and pass these bills in a relatively efficient manner. Our negotiations were marked by much compromise, given the tied nature of the House, which was evident in our bills. They were not perfect, but I am proud of the bipartisan work that was done to deliver results for Minnesotans and as a result, I voted in favor of every one of the above bills.  

I take my job as your State Representative very seriously, and I strive to work everyday to honor the oath I made to the Constitution, my constituents, and the people of Minnesota. As we enter this interim, I look forward to meeting with all of you in preparation for next session. Thank you for your support and please reach out to me at any point if you have questions, concerns, or suggestions.