Legislative Update
05.21.2026
Dear Neighbors,
The 2026 legislative session has come to a close, and I wanted to share a few of the things we were able to accomplish this year on behalf of our community and the state of Minnesota.
Before I get into that, I want to sincerely thank you for the privilege of serving you in the Minnesota House of Representatives. It is an honor to represent the broad range of ideas, perspectives, and experiences that make our communities strong. Whether we agree on every issue or not, I remain committed to listening, finding paths forward, and fighting for policies that make Minnesota better, safer, more affordable, and more accountable to the people we serve.
This session, we focused on addressing the issues I heard about most from constituents: affordability, public safety, accountability in government, and protecting the quality of life that makes Minnesota such a great place to live and raise a family. While there is always more work to do, I’m proud of the progress we made and grateful for the conversations, feedback, and support from people across my district and the state that helped shape these efforts.
This year’s legislative session took place under another closely divided government. With the House tied and the Senate narrowly divided, no major legislation could pass without bipartisan cooperation. We operated under a similar balance last session as well, which meant neither side could govern alone. While that often made negotiations more difficult and time-consuming, it also required us to work across the aisle, focus on areas of shared concern, and deliver practical results that could earn broad support from Minnesotans.
Delivering Tax Relief
Affordability was a major focus this session and we were able to get some relief for families and businesses.
- Roughly $400 million in tax relief
- $125 million in property tax relief
- $250 million in car tab fee reductions
- Tax conformity provisions to help Minnesota taxpayers and businesses
Minnesotans are still dealing with high costs, and local governments are facing rising expenses putting avoidable pressure on property taxpayers. This won’t solve everything, but it’s a real step toward giving Minnesotans some relief. We need to build on this next session.
Hennepin County Medical Center and Hospital Stability
This session, I tackled the HCMC issue and what it means for hospital care across Minnesota.
The final agreement provides a significant and time-limited cash infusion to stabilize HCMC, creates a new uncompensated care fund, and establishes a Hospital Stabilization Program for critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, and hospitals facing serious financial pressure.
Forty percent of the HCMC visits come from patients that don’t live in Hennepin County. HCMC is a state asset, major safety-net hospital and a Level I trauma center, so this work matters far beyond metro borders. My goal was to help protect access to care, improve the governance structure, require accountability, strengthen hospitals across the state, and we included an important taskforce to address major challenges in our healthcare delivery system to ensure the stability of HCMC and other Minnesota hospitals.
Congregate Care Reform
I also worked on legislation to improve oversight and coordination around congregate care facilities in our communities.
These group homes serve vulnerable Minnesotans and play a vital role in our care system, but when these facilities become concentrated on streets or neighborhoods, the challenges can be overwhelming to neighbors and the cities.
My goal was to bring people to the table and start working toward a more balanced approach. The bill I carried focused on better communication with cities, stronger inspection partnerships, improvements to the vulnerable adult reporting process, and reasonable guardrails to help prevent overconcentration while still protecting access to care.
This is a complicated issue, and I appreciate the cities, providers, advocates, and families who took the time to share their perspective. We made progress this session, and I will build on this success next session focusing on improved training, proper placement and more alignment between agencies and local government.
Fighting Fraud and Protecting Taxpayers
We also made progress this session on fighting fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars.
Minnesotans work hard for their money and deserve to know it is being used for the right people the right way. This year, we worked hard to create an independent statewide Office of Inspector General. This important step provides strong tools to recover stolen taxpayer dollars, and intensifies oversight and reporting requirements for state programs.
In addition, resources were provided specifically for Medicaid fraud investigations and prosecutions. All eyes are on Minnesota’s fraud issue right now and rightfully so. Every dollar wasted is a dollar not providing services for the people we know need help. Great first step, but we need to keep tightening state programs to prevent fraud, make sure it’s caught earlier, and hold people accountable when they steal from taxpayers.
Modernizing State Technology
This session, my Counties IT Modernization bill secured important funding to begin updating the outdated IT systems counties rely on to serve Minnesotans.
For years, counties have been asked to deliver more and more state and federal services while using systems that date back to the late 1980s and early 1990s. That creates tough challenges for county workers and the people they’re trying to help. The outdated technology has led to staff spending more time fighting the system and less time helping families, seniors, providers, and taxpayers get answers.
Modernizing these systems is basic, practical work that should’ve been done a long time ago. It’ll help counties deliver services more efficiently and accurately, reduce paperwork, strengthen data security, and improve accountability in state programs. It’ll also help with eligibility checks, error rates, and new work requirements, so public programs are serving the people they’re meant to serve. This isn’t the kind of issue that always gets a lot of attention, but it’s proven to be significant problem in recent years.
Better systems mean better service, less frustration, and a government that works better for Minnesotans.
Passing Practical Reforms
A few other practical reforms also made it across the finish line.
One of them was my “Grandparents’ Happy Hour” bill. This allows assisted living facilities to host happy hours to residents and their guests during organized activities or events, with safeguards in place. It is a simple change, and the testifiers on this bill were almost celebrities during the committee hearings. Seniors can now enjoy social time with friends and family, even when they live in a care setting.
We also passed a cannabis labeling provision that allows certain required product source information to be provided through a scannable QR code on lower-potency hemp edible labels. Congress still has work to do on this issue, but this provision provides relief and guidance for this industry to move forward.
Investing in Local Infrastructure
I was also happy to secure funding for three local projects in our district: Dayton Water Tower #2, Champlin Mississippi River Crossings, and the Elm Creek Greenway in Champlin along with securing initial funding for the Dayton-Ramsey Mississippi River Bridge project.
The Dayton water tower project will help the city keep up with growth and make sure residents and businesses have reliable water infrastructure. The Mississippi River Crossings project will help with jetty and riverbank stabilization near Champlin’s public dock system, protecting an important part of the city’s riverfront. The Elm Creek Greenway project will help continue work on a trail connection between Mississippi Crossings and the Elm Creek Park Reserve, improving access to parks, trails, and outdoor recreation.
Improving School Safety
We also made progress on school safety with measures focused on protecting every student in every school.
The final agreement includes funding for anonymous threat reporting systems, with participation open to public, nonpublic, and Tribal schools. It also includes school-linked behavioral health grants and mobile crisis grants to support students across different educational settings.
These resources can help schools identify concerns earlier, respond more effectively, and connect students with help before problems escalate. The agreement also includes stronger protections against grooming and maltreatment of minors, including updates to help identify and stop predatory behavior in schools and other settings involving children.
I still believe more should have been done to support school security, but this is a step in the right direction.
Looking Ahead
While we made meaningful progress this session, there is still more work ahead. I will continue fighting for broader tax relief, stronger government accountability, better access to healthcare, safer schools, and a state government that is more responsive to the people it serves.
This year, we worked to protect access to care at HCMC, increased support for providers serving vulnerable Minnesotans, helped stabilize rural hospitals, delivered tax relief for families, strengthened fraud prevention efforts, invested in county systems and local infrastructure, and advanced practical reforms aimed at improving everyday life across our state.
Thank you again for the trust you place in me and for the opportunity to serve you in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Rep. Danny Nadeau
Please Contact Me
Pease be sure to contact me to share your questions, comments, and concerns. I can be reached at 651-296-4315 or rep.danny.nadeau@house.mn.gov.
Have a good day,
Danny