The Minnesota Legislature wrapped up the 2026 legislative session just before midnight on May 17 having passed a handful of major initiatives included in the “global deal” announced by Governor Walz and legislative leaders earlier that week. 

In the end, the legislature passed a number of high-profile initiatives, including:

• A $1.2 billion capital investment and infrastructure bill;
• Emergency funding and governance reforms for Hennepin County Medical Center;
• Changes to state Medicaid eligibility laws to conform with federal requirements included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act;
• $125 million in one-time property tax relief;
• A $250 million one-time reduction in motor vehicle license tab fees; and,
• An omnibus human services bill with program integrity and fraud prevention initiatives as well as a cut of $300 million over three years.

Total general fund impact is an increase in state spending of $659.9 million in fiscal years 26-27, but a reduction of $294 million in fiscal years 28-29. 

House Democrats Hold Sit-In; Unable to Force Vote on Gun Control

One of the major headlines of the final weekend was the House DFL Caucus’ “sit-in” from Thursday evening until mid-day Saturday as they called on Speaker of the House Rep. Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) to schedule a vote on S.F. 4067, a high-profile gun violence prevention proposal.

The bill would ban firearm dealers from selling weapons like the AR-15 and magazines containing over 17 rounds. It would have also required current owners of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines to certify their firearms and magazines with the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and renew their certification every three years. Lastly, the bill would have reinstated a ban on binary triggers, which doubles a firearm’s rate of fire and language making it a felony to sell so-called “ghost guns” or firearms without a serial number that was recently struck down on grounds of legislative procedure.

On May 4, 2026, the Minnesota Senate passed S.F. 4067 on a 34-33 party-line vote, but a motion to recall the bill from committee for a floor vote failed 67-67 in the tied House of Representatives.

Campaign Season Begins

The end of the Legislative session officially kicks off the 2026 campaign cycle. All 201 seats in the Minnesota Legislature are on the ballot in November, and with an unusually high number of legislative retirements, we are going to have a lot of new faces at the Legislature in 2027. High-profile lawmakers with important committee gavels are retiring and will need to be replaced by the next generation. This turnover provides a tremendous opportunity to reframe thinking on long standing issues and to forge new relationships with lawmakers who will be influential in the coming years. 

AASPMN would like to work with members to host candidates for shop visits during the summer and fall to build relationships and appropriately frame issues facing the industry in advance of the 2027 session.