Looking Ahead to the Start of Session
by Senator Jason Rarick
A new year is here, and with that comes the start of a new legislative session. Folks may not know, but during even-numbered years, we typically start our legislative session a bit later into the year – this year’s start date is February 17. It is also a bonding year, which means the primary focus will be crafting a bonding bill that addresses infrastructure needs across the state. This differs from odd-numbered years, which start earlier and involve putting together a state budget. For 2026, expect a shorter session with a heavy emphasis on bonding proposals.
To start the year, I usually like to talk about my top priorities – the things I’m hyper-focused on getting done. But this year is going to look a bit different. The bonding bill will be the main item before us. Now, you might remember that despite last year being a budget year, we had a bonding bill as well. That’s because we had some catching up to do. Though there was supposed to be a bonding bill in 2024, one did not come together in time to get passed off the floor, leaving many local projects unresolved. Entering the 2025 session, it was clear that infrastructure needs across the state were high. That’s why we passed a bipartisan bonding bill that avoided partisan “pet projects” and instead focused on local roads and bridges, clean water, and drinking water. It was a targeted package with broad support, and I’m hopeful we can continue that approach this year.
As a reminder, last year’s bonding bill was a $700 million package. It allocated $290 million for improvements across the state, including $42 million for local roads and $31 million for bridge replacements. It also allocated over $93 million to address urgent water infrastructure needs with $43.5 million each for both Clean Water and Drinking Water Grants, and $6 million to mitigate drinking water contamination across Minnesota. These were high need areas that had not been addressed for quite some time, due in large part to Democrats leveraging their position in the “trifecta” as a way to fund pet projects in their previous 2023 bonding bill. Luckily, we have a split government now, which made last year’s bipartisan bonding bill possible. But there’s still more work to do. This session, I remain focused on ensuring any bonding bill is fair and focused on the local infrastructure improvements our communities desperately need.
Other than a potential bonding package, I don’t see much else getting done this year. Given the state of political affairs, I think we’re going to see a lot of folks trying to sound off on the issues they’re seeing in the news – I think these issues will pop up in committee hearings and during floor debates. With Governor Walz also announcing his retirement, I think the rhetoric will be highly contentious. Unfortunately, that kind of environment often makes it difficult to accomplish much.
Our budget is also in a precarious spot – we might have a short-term surplus, but we still have a significant deficit looming on the horizon. Several factors have contributed to this: slow economic growth, increased spending on health care due to fraud, and a mismanagement of funds. Unfortunately, as we saw last year, Democrat leadership has little interest in making meaningful cuts to get the budget on the right track before it’s too late. If nothing changes, that deficit will reach $5.4 billion. It’s a conversation we can’t afford to avoid.
Though I’m sure this will be a slower year, there are a number of issues we'll still discuss: fraud, mandate relief for schools and municipalities, healthcare cuts, paid leave, and more. While these topics will come up, I don’t anticipate legislation advancing on most of them. The only thing likely to get done will be a bonding bill. My hope is that it will follow last year’s example: a bipartisan effort concentrating only on key infrastructure investments that are long overdue.
As we begin the legislative session, I encourage constituents to reach out to my office with questions, thoughts, and concerns at Sen.Jason.Rarick@MNSenate.gov.