Friends and neighbors,

On Tuesday, we kicked off the 2026 legislative session with a speech from Sen. Hoffman in the Senate and a remembrance for Representative Melissa Hortman in the House. All committee meetings were cancelled.

On Thursday, the Senate paid respect to Sen. Bruce Anderson, who passed away in July last year. He served in the Legislature for over 30 years, including 12 years in the Senate.   

SF 1310  

The Senate began to conduct official business on Wednesday with my first committee meeting of the session on Thursday. Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (DFL–Eden Prairie) introduced Senate File (SF) 1310, a bill that would remove the requirement for school district referendums to state on the ballot that a “yes” vote is a vote for a property tax increase.

This policy works against transparency in our government. I voted against this bill. It passed on a party line vote 6–5, and is referred to the Education Policy committee, with an additional stop in the Education Finance committee. 

Stopping the Fraud

Last week, Senate Republicans released our plan to combat fraud.

Sens. Kreun and Rasmusson introduced bills designed to give the Legislature more oversight over commissioner appointments and by triggering automatic oversight hearings when programs significantly overrun their budgets.

Sens. Drazkowski, Koran, and Rasmusson introduced bills to implement more effective technological tools to aid in the oversight process and preempting bad actors from defrauding the taxpayers in the first place.

And Sens. Gruenhagen, Holmstrom, and Koran discussed their new bills to implement increased accountability within state government by increasing penalties for state employees falsifying documents, mandating unannounced inspections, and instituting annual reporting requirements. 

School Bus Driver Appreciation Day

February 18 was School Bus Driver Appreciation Day, and I want all school bus drivers to know that your service is greatly appreciated. 

Choose freedom,

Calvin Bahr
Minnesota Senate, District 31