LEGISLATORS RETURN AFTER BREAK, ENTERING FINAL STRETCH
Legislators returned to the Capitol this week following the Easter and Passover break and are now entering the final stretch of the 2026 session. With policy committee deadlines in the rearview mirror and just over a month until the May 18 adjournment, legislators now have a week to finish work on major finance bills ahead of the April 17 deadline. Attention has turned to assembling omnibus bills, though there is still uncertainty about whether agreements on supplemental budget and bonding bills will be reached this year.
BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW
As the session continues, a few bills have been signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz.
HF 3615 (Hanson, J.) extends the deadline for hemp-derived products testing allows lower-potency hemp edibles that don’t contain intoxication cannabinoids to be tested at any recognized laboratory by extending the expired laboratory testing requirements. This measure permits testing through May 31, 2027. This gives businesses more time to use out-of-state testing facilities.
SF 3623 (Johnson-Stewart) mandates that a vehicle must stop whenever a school bus’s red lights flash. irrespective of the extension of the stop signal arm. The law also includes a clause that says a school bus’s flashing amber lights alert any oncoming cars that it is halting and will shortly be flashing red lights.
HF 4541 (Perez-Vega) repeals “Cesar Chavez Day” after recent allegations of abuse committed by Chavez.
HF 3425 (Howard) allocates $9 million of remaining supportive housing program grants to address a funding gap with the federal Continuum of Care program. In late 2025, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed changes to how funding is prioritized for the Continuum of Care program, raising concerns about whether current participants would continue receiving renewals. Legal challenges followed, and a court ordered HUD to maintain its previously announced funding priorities for 2024–2025. At the state level, Minnesota created a supportive housing program funded by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA).
FRAUD PREVENTION
Addressing fraud in state programs remains a central focus at the legislature, with growing bipartisan support for establishing a new Office of the Inspector General. While details are still being finalized, inclusion of funding in Gov. Walz’s supplemental budget proposal increases the likelihood the measure will get passed.
At the administrative level, Minnesota Management and Budget has launched a new public-facing reporting tool to make it easier to flag suspected fraud across public programs. The site directs users to the appropriate agency based on the type of concern, ranging from public program misuse to consumer fraud.
The rollout comes as legislators continue to discuss oversight efforts, with additional hearings expected on how agencies are implementing recommendations to prevent fraud and improve accountability.
ETHICS COMPLAINTS
House Speaker Lisa Demuth has removed Reps. Elliott Engen (R, Lino Lakes) and Walter Hudson (R, Albertville) from their committee assignments for the rest of the legislative session after Engen was arrested for driving under the influence late last month. Hudson was a passenger in his vehicle.
The House DFL filed an ethics complaint after Engen and Hudson left the House Education Finance committee hearing early to go to a bar, and consumed alcohol before floor session that evening. Under House rules, the complaint would be referred to the House Ethics Committee for review.
Republican House members have filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Alex Falconer (DFL, Eden Prairie) over an alleged conflict of interest related to outside employment with Republicans claiming that Falconer’s actions make him “effectively a legislator lobbyist.”
These ethics complaints must be resolved by the end of session and will add even more tension and political divide to the final stretch of session.
STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS
Gov. Tim Walz will deliver his 2026 State of the State Address on April 28, 2026, during a joint House and Senate session.
The address will likely outline his final term priorities and will be his final State of the State Address.
IMPORTANT DATES
April 17: Third Committee Deadline
April 28: Gov. Tim Walz’s State of the State Address
May 18: Adjournment of Legislative Session
HELPFUL LINKS TO FOLLOW ACTION AT THE STATE CAPITOL
