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Dear Neighbor,

Greetings as we make our way through a hot (and smoky) July. It’s been great seeing so many friendly faces at our community celebrations and I appreciate the great conversations I’m having with area residents. Here are some recent notes from the Capitol I’d like to pass along:

*New laws*

A number of new laws took effect July 1. This includes changes to social media warnings, school safety mandates, state infrastructure funding, and victim protections. Click [ [link removed] ] here for a complete rundown of the changes. More new laws will be taking effect Aug. 1, so be sure to check the House website [ [link removed] ] for that information.

*60-day rule*

The end of this week brings us to 60 days since the 2026 session adjourned, at which point House members are prohibited from sending newsletters such as this until after the November election. I will continue working my hardest to represent the people of our district during this time and remain available to help as needed. Your thoughts/concerns on whatever issues are most important to you always are welcome, so please continue reaching out to me.

*Calling for Promise Act information*

We recently discovered the Minnesota Promise Act program gave grants to ineligible recipients [ [link removed] ], and requests for information on Promise Act grant applications have been stonewalled.

Refusing to release grant applications for recipients of public dollars is unacceptable. This continued defense of incompetence and refusal to be held accountable needs to stop. The Walz administration and DEED must release all of the information being requested immediately, and those responsible for approving fraudulent grants and depriving Minnesotans the truth must be held accountable.

*Paid leave program update*

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development recently released its first six-month update on the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program, and it is raising concerns.

While the agency reported that 75,000 Minnesotans have been approved for leave, we also have learned that more than 92,000 leave applications have actually been approved. Because some individuals qualify for multiple types of leave, the new program is now on pace to approve roughly 184,000 claims this year, exceeding the original estimate of 130,000 annual claims.

Furthermore, data shows that 67 percent of approved applications come from employees working for businesses with 200 or more employees, while employers with 30 or fewer employees account for just 14 percent of applications. This raises serious questions about whether PFML is disproportionately benefiting workers at larger employers, many of whom may have already had paid leave benefits available even before the former trifecta created this costly new program.

I will continue monitoring this program’s long-term financial outlook, especially since continued growth in claims could cause an increase in the payroll tax that funds PFML. Under current law, any tax rate adjustment must be announced by July 31 and cannot exceed 1.1 percent of wages. Any increase would place an even larger burden on businesses, school districts, local governments, and ultimately taxpayers across our state at a time Minnesotans already are struggling with affordability issues.

Stay tuned to see how this all plays out. For now, please stay in touch and I hope to see you out and about at local community events the rest of this summer.

Sincerely,

Lisa






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State Rep. Lisa Demuth
2nd Floor, Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar St., St. Paul, MN 55155
[email protected]
(651) 296-4373







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