|
Dear friends and neighbors on the Iron Range,
After weeks of negotiations, our final bills were settled in a special session, called by Governor Walz for Monday, June 9th. The House of Representatives worked almost straight through from 10:00am to 11:00pm, debating and voting on the final budget bills.
With over a dozen large bills to pass, it was an intense day. Because of the nature of omnibus bills, there were also compromises that had to be reached to come to an agreement on the state budget. That said, we were able to secure key provisions that our rural communities need. Here is a brief overview of the best things the new legislation will accomplish:
Illegal Immigrant Healthcare Rollback
- Sunsets the free healthcare program for adult undocumented immigrants that has been funded by Minnesota taxpayers, beginning on January 1, 2026, and closes enrollment.
Health, Children and Families
- Funds rural EMS and hospitals, helps to save rural pharmacies, and stops massive fee/surcharge hikes on healthcare.
Environment Finance
- Passed meaningful permitting reform, the #1 reason I voted for this bill. This will modify the current MPCA permitting process to make it easier for businesses to navigate with certainty, from both firm timelines, to clarifying the process for expedited permitting. Any help we can get moving the ball for new mining permits will be the biggest bonus to our natural resource-based economy.
- Also, this bill reduces the cost of fishing license fees for disabled veterans and makes the bass fishing season continuous.
Commerce
- Blocks healthcare mandates and continues to fund reinsurance. Reinsurance is a complex program that basically ensures we can continue to provide insurance to people with pre-existing conditions. Funding this program is critical to keep us from having rationed, government-run healthcare programs forced on Minnesotans.
Human Services
- Prevented costly shifts to our county units in waiver rate exceptions. This bill also addresses potential fraud in billing practices for substance use disorder providers.
Education Finance and Policy
- Provides meaningful relief for schools that have been struggling with mandates that were passed last year, which have pulled funds and attention away from students in the classroom. There is more work to be done here; the state should not be placing un-funded mandates on independent school districts and without providing funding, and at the very least, more flexible funding options to those districts. We will continue to fight for solutions to fund public education.
- This bill also reaffirms our commitment to protecting non-public pupil aid and blocks cuts to non-public schools and does not further burden home-schools. We had an overwhelming number of constituents reach out on these issues, and I am proud to say we were able to hold the line on new cuts and mandates in this area.
Transportation
- 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. Better roads, more freedom for travelers, and less spending on metro trains with low ridership is good policy, in my opinion.
Tax Bill
- We protected Local Government Aid, County Program Aid, and PILT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) for all Minnesota communities that use these programs – these are heavily used and badly needed in the Northland.
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. Our communities and organized labor both lobbied hard for bonding bills this year, and we were able to get this done. I’m grateful for the infrastructure needs we’ll be able to take care of, while providing good jobs for our friends and neighbors that work in these fields.
Data Center Bill
- Creates a "Very Large Customer" class with the PUC, requires high-water-use data centers (100M+ gallons/year) to submit preapplication info to the DNR, 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. Data Centers are a massive economic driver and so require some incentive to draw them in to Minnesota. Our building and construction trades also pleaded with us to stay competitive in this realm.
Higher Education Finance
- Makes necessary cuts to address the $239M shortfall in the State Grant Program and does so while minimizing the impact on individual students.
Labor Bill
- The best provision in this bill is the UI extension for our miners. Additionally, it includes language pertaining to telecom installers.
In a closely divided Legislature, finalizing the state budget took determination and long hours of negotiation. While the process had its challenges, House Republicans remained focused on delivering meaningful results for Minnesotans.
While some spending concerns from past sessions remain, we took important steps to stabilize the state’s finances and prevent a projected shortfall from getting worse. House Republicans will continue to push for accountability and a more sustainable, responsible budget in the years ahead.
I am glad to be home again and to get opportunities to connect with constituents. If you need to contact me, please reach out via email or phone, and I’ll do my best to get back to you – rep.cal.warwas@house.mn.gov or 651.296.0170 - an assistant covers the phone calls as I am not in St. Paul at this time, so email is the best way to reach me.
|
