With four weeks left in the legislative session, here is a quick look at where the big issues stand. Committee deadlines have come and gone so activity will now be centered on the respective floors of the House and Senate. So far there’s not a lot to write about for the 2026 session, but that could change in the next few weeks if legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz decide to start talking.
Fraud
Fraud is the top priority for House Republicans and this week they passed a bill (HF4425) that would increase the statute of limitations for medical assistance fraud from six years to 10 years after the commission of a crime. Obviously, this is in response to the fraud in state Medicaid programs such as Feeding Our Future. The bill passed 133-0 but is not moving yet in the Senate.
The bill to create an independent office of inspector general (SF856) is sitting in the House Ways and Means Committee and could see action this week. The Senate passed it last year and we expect it to be one of the few legislative accomplishments of the 2026 session.
ICE and Metro Surge
The top priority for Democrats in the Senate is responding to the ICE presence in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge. After spending hours in committee listening to stories of Minnesotans impacted by Metro Surge, the Senate only advanced one bill to the floor, providing $40 million for rental assistance. The House is unlikely to entertain any legislation related to ICE or Metro Surge.
Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC)
HCMC has been losing money for some time and was taken over by the Hennepin County Board last year. It’s fair to ask why a county hospital would be a state issue, but HCMC plays an important role for the state and region in trauma care and physician training. One solution on the table to help HCMC is to extend the sales tax currently collected for the Twins stadium and dedicate those revenues to the hospital. Of course, extending the tax wouldn’t be enough so the proposal would dramatically expand the expiring 0.15% “ballpark tax” to 1%, a sevenfold increase. The new tax would generate an estimated $300–350 million annually.
It’s difficult to imagine a sales tax increase or extension passing the House, especially with three Republican House members running for their party’s endorsement for governor. Rasing taxes just weeks before the party meets for endorsement on May 29, 2026, would be political suicide. As Matt Dean writes, there is nothing more enduring than a temporary tax.
Matt concludes, “A tax-fed slush fund is not the answer.HCMC should narrow its focus to trauma care and education. Any additional taxpayer money should be targeted strictly to those areas and have a barbed wire fence around it in the form of enhanced reimbursement rates or creative delivery models that allow the hospital to retain more revenue.” Watch for more on this topic both at AmericanExperiment.org and at the capitol.
Budget
Although the legislature passed a two-year budget last year, they could pass budget updates this year if House and Senate leadership began working together. At this point, there have been few meetings between the two sides and no budget targets have been set. Remember, the state has a surplus of funds in the current biennium, but revenues are forecast to be less than state government spending by $2.8 billion in 2026-2027 and $3.4 billion in 2028-2029. Gov. Walz put forward a half-hearted supplemental budget back in March that amounted to leftover proposals from 2025, including his expansion of the sales tax.
Despite the lack of spending targets, the Senate passed several omnibus spending bills including State and Local Government, Agriculture, Public Safety, Health, Human Services, Elections, and Veterans Affairs. They also passed a bill prohibiting pet shops from selling cats and dogs.
School Choice
Real school choice was always a longshot in 2026 with the Senate DFL and Gov. Walz holding power. Then a promised bill hearing in the House Education Finance Committee was changed to a fifteen-minute information session on April 14th. Everyone in St. Paul needs to hear more from the grassroots on how important real school choice is for Minnesota’s failing school system. More on this topic later.
Nuclear Moratorium
The repeal of our moratorium on exploring new nuclear power has been watered down into a study and is awaiting action in the Senate and House. The issue does have bipartisan support so we remain hopeful it will be in the mix at the end of session.
Bonding
A state bonding bill to pay for capital improvement projects is normally part of the even-year session agenda. At this point, both House and Senate Capital Investment Committees have toured the state and held many hearings about potential projects. Agreement on a bonding bill will materialize only under the pressure of the May 18 legislative deadline.
State of the State
Gov. Walz is scheduled to deliver his final State of the State address Tuesday night. Watch for him to recap accomplishments from eight years in office. One thing to listen for is Walz’s emphasis on inputs versus outputs. He’ll say he spent money on childcare, but childcare is still too expensive. He’ll say he spent money on education and provided free breakfast and lunch, but half the students can’t read or do math at grade level. He’ll say he guided the state through tough times like the George Floyd riots and COVID but fail to mention we are on the losing end of migration between the states, especially when it comes to higher income-earners. And he’ll claim Minnesota is a better place to raise kids due to his efforts, even though visits to food shelves are at an all-time high.
One thing we know for sure — Walz’s final State of the State will give the American Experiment podcast lots of opportunities for stopping the tape.
