2026 session so far: Lots of bluster for only 3 bills passed

After 1,385 bill introductions, two-dozen press conferences, hundreds of committee meetings and 17 days of floor session, the 2026 Minnesota legislature has passed a grand total of three bills.

The first bill changed the date for testing hemp edibles from January 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027. The second bill changed the word “shall” to “must” regarding vehicles stopping for school buses. The third billcanceled Cesar Chavez after the New York Times reported he was a serial sex offender. Chavez’s history of collectivism that bordered on Marxism never bothered Minnesota liberals, but allegations of sexual abuse were a bridge too far. The speed at which they passed a law repealing Cesar Chavez Day was breathtaking.

Obviously, the combination of a lame duck governor and 67-67 tie in the House has a lot to do with the fact that very few bills are passing. And no one at American Experiment is encouraging more bills, laws, regulations and spending to occur. It’s a blessing for taxpayers and families that nothing is getting done. But the lack of finished product does reinforce the idea that the parties are more interested in messaging for the 2026 election than getting anything done. Republicans want voters to focus on fraud and Democrats want the voters to focus on Trump and/or ICE.

To celebrate all the hard work, the legislature declared their annual Spring Break and left town Friday and will not return to action until Tuesday, April 7, 2026.

Fraud legislation moves forward

Speaking of fraud, Bill Glahn writes this week about some progress on an anti-fraud agenda moving through the House.

The bill to create an office of inspector general for all of state government passed the Senate last year on a lop-sided, bipartisan 60-7 vote. In the House, it’s a case of third time’s the charm as the bill finally moved out of the House State Government Finance and Policy Committee last week. It’s now on to the House Judiciary committee for further deliberation.

Another important anti-fraud measure moved forward last week. Rep. Andrew Myers’ HF 4425 was heard in the House Public Safety committee on Wednesday. The bill would increase the number of years the state has to charge for crimes and to claw back money stolen in Medicaid fraud from 6 years to 10 years.

Why is this important? Because it takes that long. Consider the timeline of the (non-Medicaid) Feeding Our Future fraud. Money was stolen from the federal child nutrition program back in 2020 and 2021. The famous FBI raids took place in January 2022. The first indictments were announced in September 2022.

The first courtroom trial took place in 2024. The most recent indictments came in late 2025. There is a federal ten-year statute of limitations, so we fully expect future indictments in 2026 and beyond.

Forfeiture proceedings are running in parallel to the criminal cases. We are already six years from the start of the Feeding fraud, with more courtroom trials scheduled through the end of the year.

The state prosecutes similar fraud cases involving Medicaid and the state’s Medical Assistance program. The Myers bill would give state prosecutors more time to charge and claw back your money from convicted fraudsters.

Thankfully, HF 4425 passed the committee and was sent directly to the House floor for consideration by the whole chamber. Fingers crossed.

Senate committee passes bill to study nuclear energy

The Senate Energy Committee passed a bill funding a study of factors affecting the future construction of nuclear-powered electric generating facilities in Minnesota. American Experiment submitted testimony in favor of the bill:

We believe this study could and should provide momentum to reverse Minnesota’s prohibition on the construction of new nuclear power plants in the state.

The time has come to lift the moratorium on nuclear energy so our utilities can begin planning new nuclear facilities. The rest of the country — and the world — is leaving us behind as they develop exciting new nuclear technologies that are safe, reliable, and have no carbon emissions. Any leader sincerely interested in clean energy should support the development of nuclear power and lift the renewable energy mandate.

A study is great, but Minnesotans need you to nuke the mandate and free the nukes!

The Senate “study” bill is SF 1435, authored by Sen. Andrew Mathews, the lead Republican on the Senate Energy Committee. Among the bill’s co-authors is Sen. Nick Frentz, the Democratic Chairman of the Energy Committee.

It’s been clear for a long time that nuclear power enjoys bipartisan support at the legislature.

On Thursday (March 26), a similar bill (HF 4703) was heard in the House Energy Committee authored by  Rep. Spencer Igo. After passing a bill last year to lift the nuclear moratorium, House Democrats this year voted against the weaker study bill. I don’t think that spells the end for this bill as we still have about two months remaining on the 2026 legislative session.

This week, an industry publication noted,

Five states — Wisconsin, Kentucky, Montana, West Virginia, and, most recently, Illinois — have fully lifted their moratoria since 2016. Others are loosening the reins, with Connecticut easing restrictions on small modular reactors and Rhode Island allowing utilities to buy electricity from neighboring states’ nuclear plants. Five more — California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Vermont — are now weighing legislation to overturn their bans.

At least we made the list of states who are trying. Other than Montana and West Virginia, the states listed above are blue or at least have Democratic governors. Minnesota appears to be lagging behind the pack.

But it’s not too late to catch up.