From Rebecca Delahunt, Director of Public Policy
End of Session (for now) Next Week!
Governor Walz, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth, and Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman released their negotiated budget for the next biennium on Thursday, May 15. Since the House of Representatives has split power (67 Republicans and 67 Democrats) with Speaker Lisa Demuth (R) leading the chamber, leaders from both parties needed to agree on proposals to pass a state budget.
Now legislators must wrap up legislative business by 11:59pm Sunday, May 18, 2025, or go into a special session. From credible reports, we are expecting this weekend to be a busy time for legislators as policy proposals are negotiated and passed quickly. It is likely that the legislature will need to return for a short special session, but this will likely just be to wrap up any remaining business.
For a full report on Minnesota Family Council's legislative involvement, follow our work at mfc.org/billtracker. For a quick report on issues remaining this weekend, please see the news below:
Nonpublic pupil aid preserved in the state budget!
Minnesota Family Council supports preserving of aid to students seeking alternatives to public education. Governor Walz' budget proposal and some legislative proposals for education finance included eliminating the aid to nonpublic students, which was projected to be over $52 million in fiscal year 2026 and over $57 million in fiscal year 2027.
One of House Republicans' main wins from budget negotiations was preserving funding for nonpublic pupil students in the state budget. This is good news for Minnesota families! Students seeking alternatives to public education will still have funding available for transportation, school nursing and health supports, testing materials, textbooks, etc.
Thank you to all of you who rallied with allies last week at the Capitol to preserve state funding for students.
Bill to legalize mobile sports gambling
Although legislative efforts to legalize mobile sports gambling should be effectively dead in 2025 due to missed committee deadlines, legislative maneuvers continue to be employed to keep the issue alive.
Read Minnesota Family Council's written testimony expressing our opposition to legalization, and watch our testimony here.
Just last week, a legislative "study" on the impact of mobile sports gambling was added to the Senate's omnibus Tax proposal. Minnesota Family Council and allies deemed this to be a legislative placeholder to keep legalization alive in 2025. After further review and debate, the legislative study was removed from the Tax proposal. We remain vigilant to see any remaining legislative action on this issue in 2025.
Bill to disqualify certain families from homeschooling
A few weeks ago, when the Senate passed its Education Policy omnibus, an amendment was added to the bill to disqualify certain families from home school and to regulate home school locations.
The amendment disqualifies parents—and even entire households—from homeschooling if anyone in the home has ever been convicted of a felony, gross misdemeanor, or certain misdemeanors under MN Statute 245C.15, subd. 1. Although this section includes serious crimes, the amendment targets parents who have served their sentences and have been awarded custody again. No opportunity was given for public testimony—this language was added directly on the Senate floor, bypassing committee hearings and silencing Minnesota families.
House Republicans have firmly expressed opposition to this amendment, and any policy proposal will need to be supported by House Republicans.
Bill to remove statutory conscientious objection from MMR vaccine
We are excited to report that no action other than bill introduction has taken place on the bill to remove the statutory protection for conscientious objection from the MMR vaccine. The bill has been introduced and will be live until the end of the 2026 legislative session, but it is running out of time for any other official action in 2025. Minnesota Family Council is watching for any movement on this issue.
Policy Director to Speak to Brooklyn Park Group and Fourth Baptist Church Group
Our Policy Director, Rebecca Delahunt, will be speaking on Saturday to the Government Action Team group from Living Word Christian Center based in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. She will provide a legislative update from the 2025 session as well as context from recent legislative sessions.
On Wednesday next week, Rebecca will be sharing a legislative update with a group from Fourth Baptist Church in Plymouth.
