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CKW HEADER




Neighbors, 

Yesterday, the Minnesota Legislature convened for a special session to pass remaining budget bills and finalize the state budget for 2026-2027. The House finished our business just before 11pm. Included in the bills passed was the Health / Children and Families bill, which includes legislation from the Children and Families committee, which I co-chair.  

I’m proud of the final bill we put together. The Children and Families budget will modernize the Child Welfare Social Services Information System or "SSIS" ($35M), address food insecurity ($12M), and continue support for early learning scholarships ($97+M). Despite Republicans’ efforts to follow the Trump playbook of harmful funding cuts, the bill successfully preserves important investments DFLers made for Minnesotans last biennium, including maintaining full funding for the Great Start Compensation Support Program for the early childhood workforce. Family childcare providers will also be able to qualify for small dollar improvement grants from an additional $750,000 investment to their homes, i.e. new fencing or taking down a wall to expand their footprint. The bill also maintains the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) cost-of-living adjustment and funding for a review of statewide extracurricular programs for youth under the age of 21. The bill also contains important provisions to protect Minnesota kids and seniors’ well-being, like requiring mental health warning labels on social media platforms and a $1 million investment in dementia services to support caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer's through coordinated research, services, and education. 

Working in tandem with my Republican co-chair was a unique experience and I’m pleased we were able to put together a bill that helps Minnesota’s working families. All in all, DFLers were able to prevent detrimental changes in child safety regulation and avoid cuts to critical programs. Republicans and Democrats hold different priorities and approaches, making compromise challenging on several important matters. My top priority this session was to not go backward on our commitments to the children and families of Minnesota, and I’m glad to say we achieved that goal.  

However, as a condition of balancing the state budget, Minnesota Republicans demanded removing adult Minnesotans without legal status from the MinnesotaCare health insurance program. This will harm all Minnesotans, as our hospitals and emergency rooms will not be paid for necessary emergency services. Everyone, regardless of citizenship, who is raising a family and working hard in our community deserves to live with dignity and safety. That includes access to healthcare. I took a moment on the House Floor [ [link removed] ] to point out that kicking undocumented Minnesotans off of their healthcare doesn’t save money – it costs us more. 

Despite Republicans’ determination to undercut policies that favor working families over billionaires, DFLers successfully blocked Republican efforts to roll back laws that allow people to take care of themselves and loved ones when they’re sick, save families money on groceries and make sure no kid goes hungry at school, protect our 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and protect reproductive freedom. Our work continues. 

CKW

My husband sent me this while I was on the Floor. It’s an incredible honor to serve with all women in legislative leadership: the DFL Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, the DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, and the Republican Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth. How grateful I am that my daughter gets to grow up watching strong women – including her mom – making change.






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Eden Prairie Events

Hats off to the graduates and all our Eagles as today is the last day of school in Eden Prairie! One of my favorite end of year traditions is volunteering at elementary field day. 

CKW_2

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you out and about over the summer. Make sure to check out the city summer arts and entertainment booklet here. [ [link removed] ]  

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Carlie’s Reading Corner

Make sure to find time to curl up with a good book this summer. Hennepin County Libraries offer a number of programs to support students including a Kids’ Book Club, summer reading tutors, and much more. [ [link removed] ] 

I just finished listening to The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson and I am reading Educated, a memoir by Tara Westover, for my book club this month.  

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Keep in Touch

Unfortunately, due to technological constraints, replies to this newsletter won’t reach my email account.   

To share your input or ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance, please feel free to reach out email at [email protected] or by phone at 651-296-7449. You can contact my new Legislative Assistant, Caleb, at 651-297-7025 or via email at [email protected].

It is an honor and a privilege to represent you at the Capitol.   

All my best,   

  

Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn  








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