During chaotic start to session, Minnesota legislators introduce bills on fraud, education and more

House Republicans cheer after their swearing-in ceremony on the opening day of the Minnesota Legislative Session on Jan. 14, 2025.

By Mary Murphy

January 17, 2025 at 5:42 PM

ST. PAUL 鈥� As House Democrats are boycotting the session and the Senate is operating with a temporary tie, Minnesota legislators introduced almost 200 bills in their first week.

Here鈥檚 a look at some of the proposals to address education, fraud, public safety and more.

Bills in the Senate

would require Minnesota schools to provide climate change and climate justice instruction.

would create a parents鈥� bill of rights, ensuring parents retain fundamental rights over the upbringing, education and health care decisions of their minor children, while prohibiting governmental interference in these rights.

would clarify the law on use of firearms and force in defense of home and person, codifying and extending Minnesota鈥檚 self-defense and defense of home laws.

aims to repeal American Indian mascot prohibition in schools. This bill is in reference to a law passed in 2024 that prohibits a public school from 鈥渁dopting a name, symbol, or image that depicts or refers to an American Indian Tribe.鈥�

would appropriate money for education learning centers for two special education cooperatives in Minnesota. This bill would add to legislation passed in recent years to combat hiking child care costs.

would declare Minnesota a mining-friendly state. The bill aims to 鈥減rovide for the diversification of the state鈥檚 mineral economy through long-term support of mineral exploration, evaluation, environmental research, development, production, and commercialization.鈥�

seeks to allocate money to provide cursive instruction in elementary schools.

aims to allow applicants for a driver鈥檚 license or identification card to declare their citizenship or immigration status and mandates specific markings on the documents based on that status.

would authorize retroactive relief for certain aiding and abetting murder convictions.

aims to limit segregated housing in Minnesota jails and prisons and prohibit solitary confinement.

Bills in the House

House Republicans jointly proposed 10 bills in the first week of the session. Whether Republicans can legally introduce bills without Democrats present is still unclear.

Democrats filed a hoping the court could provide legal clarity on whether the session could legally proceed. DFLers announced their session priorities on Friday, Jan. 17, and claimed that because they believe Secretary of State Steve Simon adjourned the House on Tuesday, no representatives should be introducing bills.

would establish an Office of the Inspector General that would oversee statewide fraud. The bill outlines a fraud reporting hotline, requiring agencies to halt payments when fraud is suspected and eliminating agency-based offices of inspector general.

is another effort to tackle fraud. It would require the legislative auditor to submit a report to the Legislature on agencies鈥� implementation of internal control or fiscal management recommendations.

proposes an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution that would require a portion of a projected budget surplus to be returned to state taxpayers.

covers various aspects of public safety, including making certain bail information public, setting mandatory minimum sentences for sex trafficking, requiring registration for certain offenders, creating a searchable sentencing database, enhancing penalties for assaulting police officers and more.

would prohibit state-funded services to undocumented noncitizens, explicitly calling out that undocumented noncitizens are ineligible for MinnesotaCare and the North Star Promise scholarship program.