It’s been a busy week at the Capitol as we prepare for the first and second committee policy deadlines. This means that all policy bills must clear all necessary committee stops pertaining to their issue area by 5 p.m. on April 4. The following week is the deadline for fiscal/budget bills to meet on Friday, April 11 at noon. As I mentioned in last week’s update, these deadlines help us hone bill priorities to shape policy and our state budget.
House DFLers are steadfast in standing up for our neighbors and staying true to our Minnesota values; fair pay for hard work, being able to take time off to care for yourself or a loved one without having to sacrifice a paycheck; protecting our most vulnerable populations’ access to health care, including the disability and older communities; and in my role as Education Finance DFL Co-Chair, that means preserving our progress for and investments in Minnesota’s schools and students.
As I mentioned last week the news of President Trump dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. In response, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) launched a public feedback portal at education.mn.gov for parents, students, teachers, and community members to submit detailed accounts of the ways recent Executive Orders and abrupt federal education cuts are impacting schools and children across our state.
More than 860,000 students in Minnesota depend on stable partnerships that have existed between their school communities, MDE, and the U.S. Department of Education across administrations. For decades, the federal investments facilitated through those partnerships have played a key role in ensuring students in Minnesota receive the support they need to learn and thrive, including:
$256 million for students with disabilities
$192 million for students from low-income backgrounds
$27 million for academic enrichment
$6 million for students in rural schools
$38 million to support children living on military bases or Native American reservations
$100 million for Career and Technical Education workforce development programs
On Monday, the House Ways and Means Committee heard a federal impacts presentation from Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) on federal interactions with the state budget. Kare 11 covered the presentation and the alarming reality of what we’re facing with looming federal cuts and the damage we’re anticipating backfilling at the state. (Kare 11 story on hearing)
Senator Mary Kunesh and I started off Monday morning talking with school board members and school administrators from across the State during an Association of Metropolitan School District’s day at the Capitol. My day continued with meeting students, administrators, and school board members from Hopkins, Edina, and St. Louis Park public schools!
March is Women’s History Month, and it was the perfect time to celebrate the Minnesota Frost’s achievement. And recognize the history of other Minnesota women’s sports teams like the Lynx and the University of Minnesota Women’s Hockey team that have made our state so proud!
Photo credit: House Photography
Great to have met with Rep. Kraft and MN Frost players Kelly Pannek and Grace Zumwinkle
It was a busy day also with two bonding projects bills heard in the House Capital Investment Committee. Special Projects Manager Laila Imihy from the City of Hopkins testified on funds for two larger park buildings where our community can gather. Mayor Nadia Mohamed testified on road and water infrastructure improvements on Louisiana Avenue and Oxford Street for the City of St. Louis Park. Thank you both for the work you do for our communities!
I had a great time meeting with members from SEIU to talk about staffing and wages for CNAs in our long term care & senior facilities, for nurses in our hospitals, and for janitors in our school buildings. These are folks who keep us healthy and safe in good and bad times. We need to have their backs!
Thank you MN Firefighter Initiative for the honor of working on the Hometown Heroes Act Program (HHAP) legislation over the years-it still puts a smile on my face to support your work. HHAP provides cardiac education, mental health visits, and monetary support for firefighters across Minnesota. During floor session, I had the opportunity to pass clarifying language. Though this bipartisan language, we make small changes that will have a big impact. A big thank you to Rep. John Huot, Rep. Jeff Witte, Rep. Pete Johnson, and Rep. Aaron Repinski for speaking in support of the legislation on the House floor.
Friday morning I had the opportunity to tour our Lady of Grace Catholic School in Edina. Thank you to Principal Jim Dalman, Principal Julie Morann, and Deacon Mike McGinty for showing me around their school. I was impressed by their work they are doing in literacy in their primary grades, as well as the experiential learning in the secondary grades. This year, the Urban Wilderness Program came out and helped the sixth graders build three canoes from scratch. Here is Principal Dalman showing one off.
Two days last week and one one day this week, I had the opportunity to join our Muslim friends and neighbors for an Iftar dinner. Ramadan is a Muslim holiday that includes 30 days of fasting and religious adherence to prayer. Muslims fast during the day, they do not even partake of water, and break that fast as the sun goes down with an Iftar dinner celebrated in community.
I would like to thank Rep. Samakab Hussein for inviting our colleagues to a large Iftar dinner last Wednesday at the St. Paul Armory on the Capitol campus. I also would like to thank our communities of St. Louis Park and Hopkins for hosting their own community Iftars this week and last. The food was delicious, and it was an honor to share a meal in community with our Muslim friends and neighbors. Unfortunately, I missed the Edina Iftar dinner earlier in the month due to a House floor session. On Monday, the Minnesota House and Senate will be closed for Eid. Eid is the celebration at the end of Ramadan. We will be returning to session on Tuesday, April 1.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to contact me anytime with questions, input, or ideas at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889. I am honored to serve our communities of Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina at the State Capitol.
Enjoy the warmer temps today before our rainy weekend!
St. Paul, MN – Representative Cheryl Youakim (DFL-Hopkins) passed a bill in the Minnesota House today updating Minnesota’s Hometown Heroes Assistance Program.
“Firefighters face cancer, cardiac issues, and mental health challenges at higher rates than the rest of us just for doing their jobs; jobs that we ask of them and that many of us are not willing or able to do,” said Rep. Youakim. “They work hard to keep us safe without hesitation and we need to have their backs. The Hometown Heroes Assistance Program is one of the ways we can care for those who care for us.”
In 2021, the Legislature created the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program to assist firefighters with critical illnesses and mental health care. Rep. Youakim’s bill that passed today, HF 1163, clarifies that expenses related to peer-to-peer counseling are reimbursable under the program and ensures that firefighters across the state are eligible for two hours of training in understanding and mitigating the risk of job-related critical illnesses and emotional trauma.
Following last week’s special election in Roseville, Rep. David Gottfried (DFL-Roseville) has been sworn in and is now a member of the Minnesota House, reverting us back to a 67-67 tie and ending GOP control. Committees now have equal membership of Democrats and Republicans, which will also reinstate co-chairs. For me, this means I’ll serve as a DFL co-chair of the House Education Finance Committee and share the gavel with GOP co-chair Kresha. We’re working together to discuss and vet legislation to craft a budget that serves all of our students in Minnesota.
On Monday, we welcomed the 11 Minnesotan Sovereign Tribal Nations to St. Paul to share their time and wisdom with the Minnesota Legislature and Governor Walz.
Trump Executive Order to Dismantle the Department of Education
Yesterday, the Trump Administration issued an unconstitutional Executive Order that seeks to erode access to high-quality education for children in Minnesota and across the country by dismantling the U.S. Department of Education (USED). Currently, the USDE uses formulas to distribute money that are based on numbers of students served and/or the needs of a type of student. It is complex math with many variables. Unfortunately, the folks that do the math were all fired last week.
States are being told that money will be sent to them in the form of block grants where states will have “better control”. However, block grants come with strings attached requiring states to include or remove certain policies or funding streams, essentially removing local control. Block grants are not a formula and can become political. Our students deserve better than that.
There has also been an indication that some of the work that the USED does for our students can just be shifted to other departments; department that do not have expertise in the needs of our students or the distribution models.
Trump’s Executive Order puts resources for students with special needs at risk; guts the Department’s Office of Civil Rights, which protects students from discrimination and sexual assault; and hamstrings the processing of financial aid, raising costs for college and university students who will have a harder time accessing loans, Pell Grants, and work study programs. Minnesota stands to lose $2 billion a year for these students.
Committee Work
We continue our work in the Taxes Committee with the power sharing agreement. Rep. Aisha Gomez is now co-chairing the commitee with Rep. Greg Davids. We heard a variety of bills regarding expanding the child tax credit, increasing property tax aids and credits, as well as increasing sales tax and property tax exemption for farmers. We also heard a bill to ensure free tax preparation sites for low income residents continue.
In Education Finance Committee, Rep. Ron Kresha chairs the committee on Tuesdays, and I will chair the committee on Thursdays. Tuesday we heard a bills on seat time, innovation zones, and a bill extending the short call substitute pilot project. On Thursday, we heard Rep. Sandra Feist’s bill to update the compensatory revenue formula following the implementation of Universal School Meals. Kare11 did a story and breaks it down here. We also heard Rep. Rehm’s bill to deliver additional investments in Unemployment Insurance for the hourly workers in our schools (our paraprofessionals, nutrition staff, and bus drivers) who have not been able to access unemployment in the summer months when they are unemployed.
DWI Reform
Representative Larry Kraft, Senator Ron Latz, alongside advocates announced a bipartisan bill of which I’m a coauthor. The bill reforms Minnesota’s DWI policies in a press conference recently at the Park Tavern, the site of last year’s deadly crash in St. Louis Park.
The driver of last year’s tragedy had received 5 previous DWI convictions and was found to be four times over the legal limit following the crash. Friday’s proposal significantly increases the amount of time people with multiple offenses are required to be on ignition interlock, doubles the lookback period for offenses, and removes obstacles for offenders to get on interlock in an effort to prevent future incidents like this from happening again.
Constituent Visits
Thank you to Dr. Julia Dworsky for talking with me about (HF1010/SF832) that creates a certified midwife program. The bill will help grow the maternity care workforce, especially in areas of Minnesota where our hospitals can be one or more hours away.
Tuesday I had two bills up in different committees. In Public Safety, my bill makes clarifying changes to the Hometown Heroes Act. Thank you to the MNFire Initiative for all you do for our firefighters! In Education Policy, my bill would provide school districts flexibility in setting their calendars. Local representation from St. Louis Park Schoolboard Member, Colin Cox, came to testify in favor of the bill.
Thank you to Edina resident, Tyson Helder, who visited during the MN Land Title Association’s Day at the Capitol. We talked about two bills to protect home owners during land transactions.
Constituent Carl Holmquist came up to visit during Leading Age Day. Thank you for filing me in on legislation that will affect the Glenn in Hopkins and other senior living facilities.
I had a blast showing a group of folks from the Hopkins Senior Center around the House floor this week! They had great questions and enjoyed the Minnesota Historical Society tour as well.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to contact me anytime with questions, input, or ideas at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889. I am honored to serve our communities of Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina at the State Capitol.
In light of Tuesday’s special election results, beginning next week, House committees are expected to rotate gavels, with DFL and Republican co-chairs setting their respective agendas and deciding which bills to discuss – though it’ll take bipartisan support for any bill to pass through committees. More information about committee membership and schedules can be found at www.house.mn.gov/committees. I’ve been working well with my Republican co-chair on the House Education Finance committee over these past weeks, but I am excited to be a fully voting member again. Starting next week, we will have three weeks for committees to put together their budget bills with their co-chair.
Floor Action
As I mentioned in my previous update, we continue to see divisive legislation making its way to the House Floor with no chance of passing. On Monday, we were prepared to block a bill to delay the new, popular Paid Family and Medical Leave program that’s been passed into law and set to take effect January 2026. The author tabled the bill, signaling your grassroots community efforts to stop legislation that would delay Paid Family and Medical Leave from taking effect.
On Thursday, House Republicans calendared 17 bills before the official tie goes into effect. All but two bills were brought up and tabled by Republican leadership. When a bill is “on the table”, it remains available to be taken up at any time with a basic majority vote. It should make things interesting for the rest of the session and the next. We did hear two bills on the House floor on Thursday evening that would roll back the reproductive health care and access bills we passed last session.
Committee Work
On Monday, in the Ways and Means Committee we heard a bill (HF25) to give taxpayer funds to unregulated crisis pregnancy centers and maternity homes. We also heard a bill to redistribute a budget surplus, bypassing our fiscal responsbility to fund the emergency fund, the state reserve fund, and pay back our schools if we have shifted any of their payments (this was done in 2005, 2010, & 2011 when there were large budget deficits).
This would no longer happen if HF4 becomes law. Our current funding structure during the 2023-2024 session made it possible to invest in Universal Meals, index our school formula to inflation, create the Paid Family and Medical Leave bill, and much more.
Tax Committee was busy this week. We heard a plethora of bills that provided sales tax exemptions in a variety of areas, excluding different properties from property taxes, and more. Taxes is always an interesting committee. On Wednesday, I presented HF805 to the Tax Committee. Currently, if a non-profit daycare owns their building they get a property tax break, however if those non-profit daycare centers rent, they do not receive the same break. I crafted HF805 as a renter’s credit, similar to those who rent residentially. I would like to thank Kylie Cooper, the Executive Director from Rise Early Learning Center, for testifying on HF805. Your expertise was essential for the Tax Committee to hear about.
Photo credit: House Photography
In Education Finance we heard overviews of the education formula, compensatory aid, and about all the different measures we invest in to get more teachers into our classrooms. We also heard a few bills regarding proposals to grow teacher apprenticeship programs across the state. We currently have three successful qualified teacher apprenticeships programs in Minnesota.
Constituent Visits
A group of folks from our community came up to the Capitol for Health Care Lobby Day. We had a robust discussion around access to affordable health care and prescription drugs, creating a public option, and the barriers folks have to navigate every day.
I visited with student board members from MyHealth Clinic in Hopkins to discuss access to mental health support and reproductive care for all Minnesotans. Visiting with students engaged in public policy always brings me so much hope for Minnesota’s future.
It was Minnesota Private College Day on Tuesday. Thank you to Elsie St. John from Gustavus Adolphus College for sharing your story about how the Minnesota State Grant in Higher Education has done for you. I am so excited that you are going to school to be an elementary teacher, we need more folks like you in the classroom!
Hunger Day on the hill brought constituents representing a large collation of groups that are combating hunger all over the state. It was a great discussion with constituents from The Food Group, Second Harvest and the Hunger Coalition around the increased need to fund our food shelves and to extend Market Bucks to our local grocery stores. They also expressed concern around United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) farm-to-school grants being cut at the federal level.
Thank you Matthew Beach, who was here for Insurance Day on the Hill, for discussing fees on services and the ins and outs of the insurance agency. It is also fun to catch up on Hopkins schools and high school sports.
Tuesday I also had a chance to catch up with our Metropolitan Council Member Anjuli Cameron on a variety of local topics. She was also here for Alzheimer’s Day on the Hill. We discussed the need for education and support for families who have a loved one experiencing Alzheimer’s. This is a personal issue for me and I am so glad that we have such a strong state coalition as a resource.
Hospitality Day on the Hill is an opportunity to hear from our local businesses in the hospitality industry. I had the opportunity to meet Sarah Enrico who owns Food Gallery Catering to talk about the challenges her industry faces and possible solutions.
Wednesday also brough a group of constituents to visit with the Rise and Repair Coalition. They shared with me their focus on the bills moving through the legislature around climate justice and Indigenous rights.
I also had an informative meeting with constituent Larry Hiscock who was at the Capitol advocating for increased funding for wrap-around-services for Minnesotans experiencing homelessness. We talked about his work with Fairview Health Services in their community advancement department. Housing insecurity has a direct impact on health outcomes in so many ways. It was nice to hear about the great work that is being done by so many organizations to try and increase health outcomes in our community.
Thank you to the group from AARP for meeting with me and sharing all the areas in which you are advocating for this year. From creating a fund to provide restitution for those who have experienced financial scams to protecting vulnerable adults from unlawful evictions, AARP’s advocacy work has a large imprint on Minnesotan’s lives.
A big thank you to Rep. Julie Greene for organizing a group of students to come to the Capitol and learn about it’s inner workings. They met with legislators, a lobbyist, our House Chief Clerk Patrick Murphy, took a tour of the Capitol, and sat in on the House Education Finance Committee. They even had a chance to visit with the Co-Chair of the House Education Finance Committee, Rep. Ron Kresha.
Real ID Taking Effect in May
Beginning May 7, 2025, Minnesotans 18 years of age or older will not be able to use their standard driver’s license or identification card to board domestic flights or enter certain federal facilities. Instead, they will need one of three options:
Minnesota REAL ID driver’s license or identification card.
Minnesota Enhanced driver’s license or identification card.
Other federally-approved forms of identification. They are listed online here, but include:
U.S. passport or passport card
Foreign government-issued passport
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
Permanent resident card
Border crossing card
Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID
U.S. Department of defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
If you are not sure which license type is right for you, check out the Driver Vehicle Services’ website here.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to reach out anytime with questions, input, or ideas at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651-296-9889. I appreciate hearing from you! Thank you for the honor of representing our Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina neighbors at the Capitol.
This week a new state economic forecast confirmed that there is a decrease of the surplus, which includes the uncertainty of a federal funding freeze. With President Trumps’s off and on again tariffs, pausing of grants, and threats to cut Medicare, inflation is up and the growth on domestic products (GDP) is down.
Last November, the state budget forecast showed a $3.7 billion surplus over the current budget cycle, a $616 million positive balance in the upcoming biennium, and our highest budget reserve fund ever–all due to responsible DFL governance. But as of today, Minnesota’s projected positive balance has shrunk to $456 million.
Instead of bringing down prices as they promised on the campaign trail, President Trump and Republicans in Congress are on the verge of enacting a sweeping tax cut for corporations and the top 1% of earners, and they’re going to pay for it by slashing Medicare which is the largest portion of the federal investments in health care for children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities. We receive $128 billion dollars from the federal government; that is 1/3 of our state budget. If even one fourth of those cuts happen, it could blow a huge hole in our state budget.
This latest budget forecast means that the Legislature must be laser-focused on working together to set a balanced state budget by the time session ends on May 20.
As your state representative, I’m committed to fighting for an economy where everyone in Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina can get ahead. I will continue to oppose bills to place barriers to healthcare access, cut education funding, and repeal policies that help Minnesotans thrive like Paid Family and Medical Leave.
Despite the devastating, proposed cuts at the federal level, we did receive some good news in Minnesota reflecting our commitment to deliver reliable investments into our state’s schools. In the 2023-2024 biennium, DFLers delivered an education budget that updates Minnesota’s general education formula to be indexed to inflation. In previous years, Minnesota schools have needed to wait until the legislature passes the biennial budget to know whether or not the education funding formula would be increased. The Minnesota Department of Education recently shared with Minnesota school districts, due to indexing, the new increase to the per-pupil formula allowance taking effect for the 2025-2026 will translate to a new investment of $7,481 per student which is a $200 per pupil increase.
You can read my press release for more details here.
Floor Action
On Monday, the Minnesota House debated House File 12, a Republican-sponsored bill that would exclude our transgender athletes from playing sports in our schools. This is in direct conflict with our Minnesota Human Rights Act, as well as the Minnesota State High School League’s policy that has been in place for the last ten years with no issues. I spoke on the House Floor about the dangerous path this bill would take us on if passed. History has shown us that once you start excluding a group of people just because of who they are, it doesn’t end there, and it never ends well. You can view my floor remarks here. House Democrats were unanimous in their opposition to the bill, which did not receive enough votes to pass the Minnesota House.
On Thursday, we voted down HF 13, a ‘Shoot First’ bill which would remove Minnesota’s duty to retreat, allowing Minnesotans to use deadly force when they feel any level of threat in our public spaces. When this policy has been put in place in other states, it has been shown to lead to even more gun violence victims and more loss of life. Minnesota continues to make progress on reducing gun violence. The bill failed to reach the 68 votes needed to pass on a party line vote. I was glad we were able to pass two bipartisan bills to address sex trafficking in Minnesota and will continue to work across the aisle with my colleagues on setting our state budget for the next two years.
Committee Work
Committees are starting to get busy as the GOP continues to move their agenda through committees without hearing many of our bills.
On Monday in the Ways & Means Committee, we heard a Rep. Baker (R) bill to delay the implementation of Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML). This program is on track to be implemented in 2026 and to delay it would cost Minnesotans money and valuable time.
On Tuesday in Taxes we heard change market value exclusions on home day care properties and a tax credit for remodeling underutilized buildings which Hopkins Mayor Patrick Hanlon testified in support of. I am excited to have my first bill up this session in the Tax committee next week to provide non-profit daycares a break on property taxes. In Education Finance, we heard a bill to expand non-public pupil aid to counselors to K-6 students. Current law allows for counselors in non-public schools in grades 7-12.
Wednesday in the Taxes Committee, we heard a variety of interesting proposals including one that provides a $9 billion dollar tax cut to benefit those in our higher tax brackets. We also finished our discussion around tax exemptions for data center purchases.
On Thursday, the Tax committee heard bills to increase funding for Soil and Water Conversation Districts, tax exemptions on particular properties, and a bill to provide a tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel. We finished up the week of hearings in Education Finance with an informational hearing on two bills that would allow school districts to ignore any of the initaitives we put into place to help our schools and students, including how they are able to allocate funds within the school district.
Constituent Visits and Events
Saturday, Jacques and I attended the Hopkins Education Foundation Gala. It was fun to spend time with friends while supporting the Hopkins School District. We also got to see the new mascot costumes for the Hopkins Royals.
This week was very busy at the Capitol with multiple groups of constituents and organizations visiting to advocate for a variety of legislative policy. A group of developers and contractors met with me to talk discuss the ‘Homes for All’ bills.
A big thank you to Rep. Julie Greene for organizing a group of students to come to the Capitol and learn about it’s inner workings. They met with legislators, a lobbyist, our House Chief Clerk Patrick Murphy, took a tour of the Capitol, and sat in on the House Education Finance Committee.
Community Education is a very important part of our public schools. I had the opportunity to meet with a group of community education leaders to discuss some of the challenges they are facing with programs across the state and how legislators can help.
I had a chance to meet with an amazing group of U of M pharmacy students, as well as two practicing pharmacists. We discussed the barriers to patient care and the need for increased reimbursements for our pharmacies all over the state.
As the Lead on the House Education Finance Committee, I frequently meet with school districts across Minnesota. I had a great conversation this week with members of the South Saint Paul school district: Superintendent Brian Zambreno; School Board Chair Kim Humann; School Board Member Paul Cummings; Representative Rick Hansen and Mary Frances Clardy. They were asking for additional Compensatory Aid so they can help their students thrive.
The Full-Service Community Schools model is an incredible program providing state funds for districts to develop public private partnerships so they can provide wrap around services to our students and families in our public schools. Thank you to Craig Sweet for the visit to talk about the increased funding needs for full-service community schools to expand across Minnesota.
Constituents David Homans with the Citizens Climate Lobby and Karin Cotter with the Center for Energy and Environment met with me during the Clean Energy Business Day. Thank you for all you are doing to make sure we leave the planet a little better for the next generation.
Some of Minnesota’s finest from the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees met with me on Thursday. These are the folks that work in every one of our state agencies in areas from cybersecurity, public safety, healthcare, and more. Thank you for your service to our state!
It was great to see Hopkins Councilmembers Heidi Garrido and Brian Hunke who were visiting the Capitol with the League of Minnesota Cities.
I also had visits from our incredible school social workers, the Minnesota Catholic Conference, and the PACER Center. It is wonderful to see the Capitol full of folks who want to have their voices heard. As we continue our work to produce a balanced two year state budget, we will continue to hear from groups from all over the state.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to contact me anytime with feedback, questions, or concerns at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651-296-9889.
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