End of Session: The Good, the Bad, and the Frustrating
by Senator Paul Utke

Another legislative session is in the books. This year had a slower start than most, likely because Democrats already blew through our entire $19 billion surplus and left us staring at a deficit on the horizon. That tends to change the conversation. Instead of talking about program modernization and streamlining spending, this year became more about cleaning up the mess.

A lot of Minnesotans want to know what got done during session, so I wanted to give an overview of some of the bigger-ticket items Minnesotans should know about: the good, the bad, and the frustrating.

Let’s start with the number one topic on everyone’s mind: fraud. The feds recently stated they believe Minnesota has experienced about $9 billion in Medicaid fraud alone. This is outrageous, and Minnesotans are sick and tired of being taxed more, just to see their money being used to line the pockets of fraudsters.

After two years of discussion, the bill creating the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) was finally signed into law. Despite the dozens of fraud stories we’ve seen, House Democrats held up this legislation throughout the entirety of the 2025 session. Luckily, Senate Republicans continued the work and finally got it done. This new office will investigate all allegations of fraud and put forward fraud prevention policies. The best part is that the office is completely independent of the governor. Though we know Walz is on his way out, it makes no sense for an OIG to report to the person responsible for overseeing (and in Walz’s case, ignoring) the fraud. This might be the most meaningful step we’ve taken to fight fraud, and Democrats repeatedly tried to block it.

I also want to point out tab fee reductions. Minnesotans are tapped out – I’ve heard from many throughout the area who feel like they can’t keep up. Senate Republicans were the only caucus raising the alarm on just how ridiculous our tab fees have been compared to neighboring states.

You might recall in previous columns I’ve noted how we stack up to other Midwest states. On average over 5 years, Minnesota drivers pay about $3,500 in tab fees, with North Dakota and South Dakota fees being $465 and $378 respectively. That’s no small difference – that’s a major burden on families, seniors on fixed incomes, and young people trying to afford a vehicle.

This year, we were able to get a one-year reversal of the tab fees that takes us back to 2022 levels, and will save drivers about $254 million for the year, temporarily undoing the ridiculous fee hike pushed by the Democrat trifecta. I want to be clear: this is not good enough. This is easily the top issue I’ve heard about all year, because folks are renewing tabs and they’re seeing costs skyrocket to above the cost of an average car payment. And they’re even more upset when they realize Democrats also changed the rate of depreciation, meaning drivers pay MORE for LONGER. I’m glad we can offer some relief from the Democrat increases, but this reversal needs to be permanent.

I’d also like to note some of the “worst of the worst” bills that did not pass. Democrats once again tried to push gun legislation that would limit your Second Amendment Rights. I will never support measures limiting your constitutional rights. Even worse, Democrats held school safety funding hostage to get a vote on banning certain firearms – protecting kids became a political play. It was wrong on all fronts.

They also tried to push “Metro Surge response” bills, which were just silly. They wanted to do things like prohibit federal agents from entering courthouses, require people to provide assistance to someone injured by an agent (also opening up the potential for those folks to be sued if they don’t intervene), and prohibiting law enforcement from wearing any masks. They also tried to give grants to businesses in the cities affected by metro surge, many of which closed their doors out of their own free will, oftentimes encouraging people to leave work and impede the work of federal agents. These were the Democrat priorities this year, proving they care more about the rights of those here illegally, than protecting legal citizens.

Overall, there were some good things that passed, and some horrible things we were able to avoid. Heading into the end of the year, it’s clear affordability will be on everyone’s minds. I’m hopeful that next year with a new legislature, we can undo more of the harm Democrats have brought to our state, and start making real changes that once again make Minnesota a desirable place to live and raise a family. I will continue the fight against any Democrat legislation that seeks to undermine that.