Legislative Update
 Dear friends and neighbors,
We’ve officially hit the halfway point until we adjourn sine die on May 17th. While this session has felt like a bit of a slow burn at times, we made some real headway this week.
A few weeks back, I talked about House File 1338, which would create an independent Office of the Inspector General. Just as a quick recap: this legislation passed the Senate unanimously, 67–0. That’s about as bipartisan as it gets. But when it made its way to the House, it was quickly killed by the DFL.
Minnesotans have watched major fraud schemes unfold for years, and somehow the idea of independent oversight became a controversial issue for reasons unbeknownst to many of us here at the legislature. Cleaning up fraud in our state shouldn’t depend on who’s in the Governor's office. That’s exactly why this bill is so crucial. It creates a fully independent Office of the Inspector General—completely nonpartisan and not under the thumb of any politician. No games, no excuses, just good old fashioned accountability.
Now, here’s some good news
The House State Government Committee recommended an OIG bill for passage Tuesday morning that closely mirrors the version already passed by the Senate with strong bipartisan support.
House Democrats pushed to water down key provisions, but we held the line, because this bill is just too important to weaken.
We brought this bill forward multiple times, and each time, we were met with resistance. But we didn’t back down. Eventually, I think it became clear: we were serious about preserving the bipartisan, bicameral work already done in the Senate—and we weren’t going to accept anything less.
Funny how things start moving when you stop taking “no” for an answer.
The bill now heads to the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee, and there’s real hope it could make it to the governor’s desk before the end of session.
This is a step in the right direction, and I’ll keep pushing every day to make sure it gets across the finish line.
House Dems Souring Support for Dairy Farmers
As much as I’m glad to see Democrats finally starting to acknowledge the fraud loopholes that have been allowed to run rampant under the Walz administration; this week also showed we’re still missing a healthy dose of common sense.
Last week, I introduced House File 3508 in the House Ways and Means Committee—a practical fix to an issue impacting dairy farmers across Minnesota.
Here’s the situation.
Minnesota created the Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Relief Initiative (DAIRI) program to support dairy farmers who voluntarily participate in the federal Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program. That federal program helps farmers when the gap between milk prices and feed costs gets too tight—but farmers have to opt in and pay premiums to participate.
The state set aside $4 million for this program, later adjusted to $3 million. But due to federal timing, the DMC program wasn’t offered during the years that funding was originally intended to be used.
So, this is where things get frustrating.
Under current law, eligibility for this funding is based on milk production from 2022. That means if you’re a new dairy farmer—someone who started after 2022 or didn’t have a full year of production—you’re out of luck. No matter how hard you’re working to get up and running, you don’t qualify.
That’s not only unfair, it also just doesn’t make sense.
House File 3508 fixes that. It allows new dairy farmers to qualify based on their production history through the federal DMC program, rather than a year they weren’t even operating. It also ensures any remaining funds can still be used to support dairy farmers moving forward.
In short, this bill would help roughly 30 new dairy farms, real folks in need, who are currently locked out of a program designed to support them.
This is really a simple solution, zero controversy.
And yet—House Democrats blocked it.
At a time when farmers are already facing tight margins and rising costs, turning away from a common-sense solution like this is a tough pill to swallow.
I’ll keep fighting to make sure our policies actually reflect the realities Minnesotans are living every day, because supporting our farmers should never be up for debate.
Putting the Brakes on Rising Tab Fees
 Affordability for Minnesota families remains at the top of our priority list as we move into the second half of session. You might remember a clip I shared on Facebook a few weeks ago referencing an outrageous remark from one of my DFL colleagues during a taxes committee meeting—suggesting she may offer an amendment to quintuple car tab fees for Minnesotans across the state.
Joke or not, there’s nothing funny about it.
We are facing a very real affordability crisis across Minnesota, and comments like that only further prove how out of touch some of these proposals have become. According to the Star Tribune, Minnesota’s car registration fees are already higher than ever—and without action, they’re not expected to come down anytime soon.
As Patti Anderson put it best: “In a time when everyone is struggling to make ends meet, to put food on the table, the fact that we’ve made driving unaffordable for people is wrong.” She’s absolutely right.
That’s why I’m grateful that this week, Rep. Anderson introduced legislation to bring tab fees back to pre-trifecta levels, with a hearing in the Transportation Committee. It’s a commonsense step toward giving Minnesotans some much-needed breathing room.
Because here’s the reality: during the trifecta, Democrats passed over $10 billion in new taxes, including changes to the tab fee formula that increased costs by roughly 20%. Now, Minnesotans are paying more just to drive their own vehicles—while proposals to raise those costs even further are still being floated. At the same time, our tab fees are already far higher than neighboring states like Wisconsin and North Dakota.
House Republicans are working to reverse these increases and return rates to where they were before—delivering nearly $1 billion in relief back to Minnesota drivers. Because paying over $1,000 for tabs on a single vehicle isn’t normal, and it certainly isn’t affordable for anyone.
Yet despite that reality, our DFL colleagues continue to defend keeping these costs high. As Rep. Brad Tabke (D-Shakopee) argued during debate, “You know this is wrong. You know that we can’t do this.” To which Jon Koznick (R-Lakeville) responded: “No, it’s not wrong. Families are working harder and harder every year to pay their taxes. Minnesota taxpayers are concerned about rising tab fees.”
And he’s exactly right.
The last thing Minnesotans need right now is higher fees, they need relief.
Growing Minnesota Together
It was great to join my fellow agriculture committee colleagues from the North, Representative Steve Gander (R-East Grand Forks) and Representative John Burkel (R-Badger) at the Agrigrowth reception earlier this week. We’ve partnered on a number of bills to support our farming communities back home, so I always appreciate the chance to connect with Ag industry leaders, swap ideas, and make sure what we’re doing at the Capitol lines up with what’s happening out in the fields.
Stay in Touch & Soak Up the Sunshine!
As always, please keep reaching out and sharing your thoughts, concerns, and ideas—I always appreciate hearing from you. I’ll keep pushing to bring some much-needed fiscal sanity back to St. Paul.
Enjoy the warmer weather this weekend, we’ve earned it!
Sincerely,
—Representative Nathan Nelson
|
