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Robbins 2025 Updated Header




*April 11, 2025*






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Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We had another busy week in St. Paul as most Committees finished up their budget bills. As I write, a few are still in negotiations but will be “closed” by Friday night. 

The Legislature will be on our Easter/Passover recess next week, so Legislative work will not resume until Monday, April 21st. That will be “mark-up” week, where we have final hearings on all of the finance bills that have just been negotiated.

The rhythm of the Legislature will change substantially after recess. The first half of session is dominated by committee meetings and short floor sessions. The second half is dominated by long floor debates and most committees will be done.

My Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee will continue its work until the end of session. We may have to adjust our meeting dates/times to accommodate the new floor schedule, but we plan to continue our work. Stay tuned!

Easter is my favorite holiday and I look forward to seeing our girls and enjoying more time with extended family. I won’t be putting out a newsletter next week, since nothing will be happening at the Capitol. I hope you all have a wonderful celebration of Passover and Easter with your families!







Executive Summary

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Cutting Red Tape for Small Businesses

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Keeping Promises: A Responsible Step Forward on Teacher Pensions

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COVID Relief Oversight: Unanswered Questions and Ongoing Concerns






Cutting Red Tape for Small Businesses

This session, I authored HF 2062 [ [link removed] ], a “vendor allowance” bill that will provide long-overdue tax relief to Minnesota businesses by allowing them to keep a small portion of the sales tax on behalf of the state to help cover their costs. Right now, businesses across our state serve as unpaid tax collectors for the government — often navigating a complex patchwork of local, county and metro-wide taxes, administrative hurdles, and credit card fees that eat into their bottom line.

This idea isn’t new — it’s had bipartisan authors long before I was even elected, but it never seems to get over the finish line. I’ve long believed this policy is both fair and necessary, especially for Main Street businesses with limited resources.

To build the broadest possible coalition and improve the bill’s chances of passage, I offered an author’s amendment with my colleague, Rep. Matt Norris (DFL), to adopt a version of the bill that reduced the amount of the vendor allowance so it would have less of a fiscal impact.

I wish we could do more, but since the Democrats spent the entire $18 billion surplus last session and increased taxes by $11 billion, there is not much, if any, money available for tax relief for businesses or families. *You will recall last week I tried to increase the phase-out on the child tax credit to give more tax relief to families. *

Here’s what HF 2062 will do:


* Let retailers who file and remit taxes on time retain a small percentage of the sales tax collected.
* Prioritize small businesses — those with less than $60,000 in annual liability will receive the highest percentage allowance.
* Recognize the added complexity from growing local sales taxes and credit card fees, which can cause small businesses to lose money just by complying with state law.

Twenty-seven (27) other states, including Wisconsin and Iowa, already offer vendor allowances. It’s time Minnesota caught up.

This bill is about fairness, simplicity, and helping Minnesota’s job creators focus on what they do best — creating opportunity in our communities.






Keeping Promises: A Responsible Step Forward on Teacher Pensions

As the Mom of three girls, I’ve seen the profound impact our educators have on students and families. One of the most important ways we can honor that commitment is by ensuring teachers’ pensions are strong and sustainable.

This year, I’m supporting a targeted update to the Teachers Retirement Association (TRA) through HF 2318 [ [link removed] ], which provides teachers with an unreduced pension at age 62 with 30 years of service. Currently, teachers must wait until age 65 to retire at full pension. This proposal is a reasonable and cost-effective step that helps retain experienced teachers, allows the most “expensive” teachers to retire 3 years early (which helps school budgets), makes room in the profession for new teachers, and protects the long-term health of the pension fund.

Key points of the bill:


* *62/30 Unreduced Retirement:* Teachers who reach 62 years of age and have 30 years of service could retire with no early reduction penalty.
* *Funded through Employer Contributions:* The change would be funded by a 1% increase in employer contributions, not through shifting the burden to taxpayers or the retirement fund itself.
* *Pension Adjustment Revenue Increase:* The bill also increases state support for districts to help cover the employer contribution, helping ensure school budgets remain protected.

Unlike other proposals that would have added significant long-term liabilities, this bill is a fiscally sound compromise that costs just a fraction of more expansive pension plans. It reflects a commitment to strengthening the retirement system without jeopardizing its future.

Pensions are a promise — and both House Republicans and Democrats agree that this issue is important, both for our teachers and for the students they teach. Offering good pension benefits helps retain good teachers which is essential for students’ success.

It is unfortunate that last biennium, when we had an $18 billion surplus and could have easily funded these changes to pension programs, Democrats had other priorities. They have released their pension plan for 60/30, but its costs far exceed the budget available to the Education Finance Committee, at $245 million per year.

With a $6 billion deficit looming, we have to find reasonable ways to support teachers and ensure the long-term health of the pension fund. HF 2318 costs only $77 million per year, which is still too high for the current budget situation, but much more cost-effective than the Democrat plan.

One option to fund the $77 million cost is to pass HF 2201 [ [link removed] ], which would make pragmatic changes to the universal school meals program. This bill would keep school breakfast free for all students, but would require families making over 500% of the federal poverty rate (over $150,000) to resume paying for their kids’ lunches. This would create roughly $113 million a year that could fund this pension change and provide some additional flexible spending for our classrooms.

Both our option and the Democrat option are laid over for potential consideration in an omnibus bill. But given the current budget constraints, there is a clear winner in ensuring financial responsibility.






COVID Relief Oversight: Unanswered Questions and Ongoing Concerns

On Monday, I chaired a comprehensive hearing in the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee examining how the State of Minnesota used federal COVID relief dollars—over $76 billion came to Minnesota in response to the pandemic, with more than $13 billion flowing through state government.

We heard from Commissioner Erin Campbell of Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB), who emphasized that the state received a clean audit for the flexible COVID funds, specifically the Coronavirus Relief Fund and American Rescue Plan funds. While I appreciated her testimony, my colleagues and I raised serious concerns about transparency and accountability across the broader landscape of federal aid, especially since she claimed a “clean audit” when Minnesota had the largest COVID-era fraud scheme in the country with Feeding our Future. The “single audit” only covered two flexible funds and not the full spectrum of COVID programs, including high-profile cases of fraud in programs like Feeding Our Future or childcare programs (CCAP). See video of that exchange here. [ [link removed] ]

A major focus of the hearing was on the abrupt federal claw back of millions in unspent public health dollars—some of which Minnesota had already obligated for grants and staffing. I questioned the administration’s planning, noting that agencies had years of notice that this money would expire, and yet many are now scrambling to maintain capacity and asking the legislature for permanent funding.

We also delved into overpayments and fraud in the state’s unemployment insurance system. While the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) touted low fraud rates relative to other states, data from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) shows over $26 million in fraudulent pandemic overpayments and $55 million in non-fraudulent overpayments. Recovery efforts have been limited. I pressed the agency on how it detects fraud by applicants and employers and what internal controls are in place. Little answers were provided and follow-up was promised, so I look forward their additional responses. Watch here. [ [link removed] ]

The overarching concern is this: one-time COVID dollars were supposed to meet emergency needs, not build permanent programs or expand state government in unsustainable ways. Now, as funding winds down, we’re seeing a growing number of agencies and interest groups returning to the legislature to ask for long-term commitments with no federal funds to back them. We must do better to distinguish temporary support from ongoing obligations—and ensure Minnesotans are getting real value and accountability for every tax dollar.






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"Honored & inspired to meet so many Veterans from across the state & my Veterans from Osseo/Maple Grove American Legion Post 172 at Veterans Day on the Hill! We cannot balance the budget on the backs of Veterans. When we had a surplus they were promised tax relief & the Democrat Trifecta pulled it back. Now that we have a $6 billion deficit they say we can’t help Veterans. They fought for us we need to fight for them! "

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"It was an honor to attend the laying of the cornerstone for the new Arts & Cultural Center on the grounds the Hindu Temple in Maple Grove! Thank you to the Hindu Society of Minnesota for inviting me!"

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"It was so so fun to spend time talking to a group of students from Greenfield with Senator Warren Limmer at the Capitol today. Thanks so much for the great questions!"

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Please Contact Me

Many of you have already been in touch to discuss your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you. Thank you for sharing your ideas! Please continue to contact me to discuss any matters to which I can be of assistance.

The best way to reach me is by email: [email protected]. For occasional updates, you can follow my Facebook Page at @RepKristinRobbins. You can also leave a voicemail on my office number, 651-296-7806, which is checked every weekday while we are in session.

Of course, if you are coming to the Capitol, I’d love to meet you! Please reach out if you would like to set-up an in-person meeting. 

Have a great weekend!

 

Kristin











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Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.7806







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