House leaders hail productive session, vow to seek majority to finish agenda

Speaker opened the session-ending remarks by praising outgoing leadership and saying the best tribute to Melissa Hortman was completing the legislature’s work on time. The speaker highlighted several legislative wins, saying the majority delivered $705 million to preserve a hospital and passed anti-fraud measures and property tax cuts.

Another lawmaker said the session included a “really outstanding housing bill” that puts $40 million into rental assistance and pointed to over $300 million in new revenue from increased corporate taxes to stabilize future budgets. Both speakers said those results showed Minnesotans can trust their priorities were addressed despite a narrowly divided chamber.

Lawmakers acknowledged major disappointments, including a failure to pass gun-violence prevention bills and measures to curb certain federal immigration enforcement actions. They framed the upcoming campaigns as forward-looking contests about affordability, health care and public safety, with one lawmaker saying voters will be most interested in what candidates will do to make their lives better.

On process, speakers defended months of public hearings and public input that informed the final packages, while conceding there is room for improved transparency when multi-month negotiations culminate in a late release of final language. They contrasted the current two-year power-sharing arrangement, which reduced lengthy floor debate, with past sessions marked by long amendment fights and tactics to run out the clock.

The session closed with leaders promising to press the case to voters that a future majority would enable them to pass remaining priorities they said were blocked under the power-sharing dynamics and current opposition.