Minn. Sen. Gary Dahms says close split played role in forcing special session

Yahoo

24-05-2025

May 24---- Differences over funding for health care coverage for undocumented immigrants was the major sticking point that upended a budget agreement and has led the
to need a special session to finalize a budget, according to State Sen. Gary Dahms, R-
.
Dahms told attendees at a town hall meeting in Granite Falls on Wednesday that the divided Legislature — with 100 Republicans and 101 Democrats — made it far more difficult to reach compromise than many had expected.
"It's hard to maneuver and get much done," he said.
The tight split meant the relatively small People of Color and Indigenous caucus within the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party had the leverage to stop an agreement that would have ended health care coverage for undocumented immigrants ages 18 and over beginning Jan. 1, 2026. Coverage would have continued for their children as part of a compromise agreement, according to Dahms.
The caucus consists of five House and five Senate DFL'ers, and they protested what Dahms termed a "reasonable" budget agreement the two parties' leaders had approved one week ago.
The Legislature is expected to hold a three-day special session in the coming week to resolve its budget differences. While stating it was not the cause, Dahms also criticized the decision by DFL'ers in the House not to gather in St. Paul for the first 23 days of the session as contributing to the current situation.
A dispute over a residency challenge led House DFL members to boycott the start of the session until it was resolved. Republicans continued to meet, but they lacked a quorum to approve legislation, according to a State Supreme Court ruling.
The absence of DFL members at the session's start served to slow the process as Senate committees waited for House committees to complete their bills, Dahms explained.
"Most of us realized down the road how big of an impact that was going to happen," he said.
The Wednesday town hall meeting was to have included State Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, but Swedzinski had to remain in St. Paul as part of the negotiations taking place prior to the special session, according to Dahms. The two jointly host after-session town halls in their districts, but this year's work remains unfinished.
There remains uncertainty as to the fate of a number of measures.
Dahms said the greater share of expected spending cuts in the new budget will be in the form of "shifts" in responsibilities to counties and cities.
Some of the biggest shifts will occur in support for skilled nursing care for the elderly, Dahms said.
Overall, he warned that the shift in burdens to counties and cities will result in an average 10% to 12% property tax increase, although the actual impact will vary among the counties. Add inflation, and local governments could be raising property taxes by 14% to 18%, according to one projection he has seen.
"That is just unaffordable," Dahms said.
On top of the shift in burden, Dahms said the latest budget proposal — as of the town hall meeting — calls for decreasing state aid to nursing homes by $250 million.
"No way they can take that," he said.
Dahms said the expected cut to nursing homes is roughly the same as the projected costs for continuing health care coverage for undocumented immigrants.
Dahms said he expects that a $700 million capital investment or bonding bill will be approved in special session. It is much lower than the $1.2 billion that Senate DFL'ers are seeking, he said.
The $700 million is based on an analysis from the Office of Budget Management. A larger, $1.2 billion bonding bill will likely be taken up for debate in the next session, he said.