Today, the Minnesota Legislature begins the 2026 legislative session. From now through May 18, state legislators will be holding hearings and taking votes on some of the most pressing political issues of the day.
At present, the Minnesota House of Representatives is evenly split with 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Senate has a one-vote DFL majority. Given this, any legislation that passes will need bipartisan support.
Last year, Minnesota lawmakers passed a $66 billion budget that funds state government through June of 2027. However, even-numbered years in the state legislature, which are typically referred to as “policy years,” are very different.
Without the need to fund Minnesota’s many government agencies and programs, legislators use even-numbered years to focus on any and all policy issues. This year, fraud, ICE, and gun control are likely to dominate the business of the legislature.
Fraud in Minnesota
Speaking at a press event on Monday, GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth and GOP Floor Leader Harry Niska said Republicans will use the upcoming session to focus on rooting out fraud in Minnesota.
House Republicans said HF 1, a bill to create an independent office of the inspector general, is a top priority for their caucus. The statewide inspector general would have the authority to examine all state government agencies and programs for evidence of fraud.
Last year, the Senate passed a similar bill to create such an office by a 60-7 vote. However, Niska said Democrats blocked that bill from ever being brought up in the House.
Additionally, House Republicans said they have two other anti-fraud bills: one would create statutory guidelines for state agencies that run programs deemed “high-risk” for fraud, and the other would create consequences for agencies that allow unchecked fraud to occur.
Democrats and ICE
Meanwhile, Democrats have made clear that their priority this session is responding to the federal government’s recent immigration enforcement effort, Operation Metro Surge.
On Monday, DFLers held a press conference where they accused ICE agents of racial profiling, violating the law, and kidnapping people. DFL Sen. Erin Maye Quade said Operation Metro Surge had brought “generational devastation” to Minnesota.
Responding to this so-called “generational devastation” appears to be the DFL’s top priority going into session. In fact, Gov. Tim Walz said he wants the state legislature to pass a $10 million “relief package” for small businesses affected by Operation Metro Surge.
Further, DFL State Rep. Leigh Finke, a man who identifies as a woman, said he is authoring two bills directed at ICE.
Referring to ICE as “the secret police,” Finke said one bill would require law enforcement at local, state, and federal levels not to wear masks while on-duty in Minnesota. Finke noted that the bill has exceptions for health and public safety situations.
According to Finke, his second bill “would require all vehicles intended to detain human individuals to be marked law enforcement vehicles and have safety mechanisms in them for the safe transportation of people.”
Given the fact that the DFL needs one GOP to pass any of their bills, speakers at that press conference repeatedly called on Republicans to stand with them.
Gun control
In the wake of last year’s tragic shootings involving the Hortman family and Annunciation Catholic School, Democrats in the legislature and Gov. Tim Walz issued new calls for more gun control laws.
After the shootings, Walz proposed a special session of the state legislature to pass a series of new gun-related bills.
Walz and Democrat leaders wanted to ban many different types of guns they refer to as “assault weapons,” outlaw “high-capacity magazines,” and eliminate the ability for Minnesotans to build their own firearms from various gun parts.
In past sessions, DFLers have also pushed bills that increases gun storage requirements and bring criminal charges against Minnesotans who fail to report a lost or stolen firearms.
While Walz’s special session on gun control never materialized in 2025, Minnesotans can expect DFLers to bring those ideas up repeatedly during this year’s legislative session.
Memorial for Melissa Hortman
The legislative session commenced at noon today. In the House, legislators will open the day with a memorial for Melissa Hortman. A former speaker of the House and DFL leader, Hortman and her husband were murdered by a gunman who showed up at their home in the early hours of June 14, 2025.
Today is the first time the legislature has met since the Hortmans were killed last year.
Speaking about the planned memorial yesterday, Demuth said, “You’ll see tomorrow a very meaningful memorial” which brings together “Democrats and Republicans in the House chamber along with our Senate colleagues.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
