Friends and Neighbors,
Over the past couple years, Minnesota has faced some serious, even heartbreaking challenges, including the violent and unconstitutional incursion of ICE agents into our state, as well as tragic gun violence in schools and against public officials across the state. Despite difficult circumstances this year, we made progress in some areas, though there is much left to do.
Hennepin County Medical Center and Healthcare
Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is Minnesota’s largest Level 1 Trauma Center, serving people across the state for severe and urgent medical needs. It was facing a financial crisis and required legislative intervention to avoid closing. Closure would have catastrophic consequences for patients and healthcare workers throughout the state and sharply reduce access to some specialized care.
We provided $205 million in immediate funding, and created a Hospital Stabilization Reserve Fund that will ensure HCMC remains open.
This urgent action was necessary but not sufficient. Serious gaps in our current healthcare system, compounded by the devastating impacts of President Trump’s budget, are crushing Minnesota hospitals and communities. Federal cuts to Medicaid will likely cost HCMC close to a billion dollars in additional losses over the next decade, on top of the growing number of uninsured people who will go to HCMC and other hospitals, adding to their level of uncompensated care. The legislature provided a new $30 million uncompensated care fund to help hospitals most impacted by federal Medicaid reductions.
Essentially, all this funding is only a stop-gap measure. We need fundamental reform in our healthcare system to save money and improve access to care. I continue pushing for bold reform so all Minnesotans get the care they need when they need it.
Efficient Program Administration
Upgrades for county human services program administration have been deferred for far too long. Some of the software dates to the 1980s, with county workers using old computers with “green screens” to enter benefits and qualifications data, resulting in inefficient and costly work and making it harder to detect fraud.
Fortunately, an initial $90 million was appropriated for improvements for counties and to begin modernizing the administration of these complex programs. Funding for technology updates is not a glamorous political issue, but it is crucial in improving efficiency and preventing fraud.
Fighting Fraud
In addition to technology upgrades, we passed significant initiatives to prevent, detect, and stop fraud, and hold criminals accountable.
We passed a new independent Office of Inspector General (OIG). Unlike Washington, where President Trump fired multiple Inspectors General and cut funding for their work, Minnesota is working aggressively to prevent fraud and corruption, giving the OIG broad oversight authority over agencies, grant recipients, and contractors. I opposed the decision to have the OIG establish its own law enforcement agency instead of working with existing law enforcement, but believe the OIG will be a positive step forward.
More investigators and enforcement tools were provided for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Unit, one of the most successful offices in the country in prosecuting Medicaid fraud.
We established an electronic visit verification system to ensure human service providers are doing the work they claim to be doing. The state continued tightening up on grant management oversight of companies and non-profit groups who deliver various state programs and services.
State agencies will be able to withhold payments when there are credible allegations of fraud. Importantly, this is backed up by a team at the Department of Human Services charged with ensuring continuity of care when payments are withheld so people who rely on state services are not harmed.
Finally, when it comes to fraud, it is important to separate the very serious problem from the posturing aimed at scoring political points rather than addressing the problems. Fraud against the state of Minnesota has totaled hundreds of millions of dollars – it is completely unacceptable; it hurts both taxpayers and the people who need services.
However, when politicians throw out ever larger figures, saying “many billions of dollars” – totally unsubstantiated numbers – to score political points, they make the situation worse and detract from serious efforts to investigate and fix the problems and prosecute wrongdoers.
On top of that, President Trump’s multiple pardons and clemency for felons serving long prison sentences for theft of Medicaid and Medicare – including one criminal who was convicted of taking over a billion dollars – sends a message to criminals that they might escape accountability.
Stopping fraud is an important responsibility of government. It is a bipartisan responsibility. It deserves better than political games. It deserves serious work and I’m pleased that the legislature acted responsibly.
Banning Prediction Markets in Minnesota
Two years ago, few people had even heard of prediction markets. Now, companies like Kalshi and Polymarket have become household names as the companies have succeeded in conducting sports betting and other forms of gambling that are not legal in Minnesota. Prediction markets allow people to place anonymous bets on sports, war, politics and even deaths and other misfortunes, using futures contracts to avoid gambling regulations.
These corporations claim that futures contracts are regulated solely by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). They have been acting with impunity because the CFTC has neglected its responsibilities while one of President Trump’s sons has large financial stakes in both Polymarket and Kalshi. Prediction markets have already led to rampant insider trading and market manipulation, increases in gambling addiction, and the undermining of lawful, regulated gambling in Minnesota.
I carried bipartisan legislation that will now ban prediction markets. Minnesota can be proud to be the first state in the nation to ban predatory prediction markets, which will likely become a model for other states. The Trump administration’s CFTC is challenging this new law in court, which is not a surprise. States leading in consumer protection often wind up in court, but I am confident that Attorney General Ellison will have a strong case in defending the law.
Housing
The impact of Operation Metro Surge is still being felt in many communities. It put many renters at risk of eviction and homelessness. Many immigrants and people of color were too scared to go to work during the surge, afraid they would be brutally assaulted or kidnapped by ICE agents. Without the ability to work, many were unable to pay their rent.
Loss of household income and the rising cost of living have made the problem a crisis for many families. I was pleased that the legislature came together to recognize the need for short-term rental assistance and more investment in affordable housing with over $165 million in additional funding. This was an important success of the 2026 session.
Lack of Progress on Gun Violence Prevention
As a long-time advocate of legislation to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines and assault weapons, I was very pleased to have the Senate DFL push a comprehensive approach to gun violence in response to the shooting at Annunciation School in Minneapolis. Sen. Zaynab Mohamed’s thoughtful package, Senate File 4067, included a ban on assault weapons and large capacity magazines, as well as much-needed funding for mental health, school safety, and gun violence prevention research.
Unfortunately, after Senate passage of the bill House Republicans blocked a vote at every turn. We know that gun violence prevention laws make a difference: states that have few, if any, gun regulations have a gun-related death rate more than double the rate in states with reasonable gun regulations. Minnesota is long overdue for passing gun violence prevention legislation, and I will continue working to make our communities safer.
ICE Response
The blatant violations of constitutional rights last winter by federal ICE agents included thousands of often violent assaults. If those ICE agents worked for any Minnesota law enforcement agency, they would have been fired and prosecuted for their criminal assaults. For a quick reminder of how outrageous their conduct was, here is a link to a short statement from a Minneapolis resident and US Citizen with traumatic brain injury and other disabilities who was arrested and treated brutally, though she was never charged with a crime: https://tinyurl.com/ICEvictimTestimony
I was pleased to help pass a significant ICE response package assembled by Senate DFLers. The bill would ban federal immigration access to colleges, daycares, hospitals, and courthouses without due process, establish a right to sue when constitutional rights are violated by federal agents, and prevent ICE agents from hiding their identities by wearing masks.
This ICE response passed the Senate, but despite the shocking violation of constitutional rights, not a single Senate Republican voted for this bill, and the House GOP refused to vote the bill out of committee. I am concerned that without this legislation we will see a repeat of this invasion.
To help small businesses impacted by the Metro Surge, I worked to pass a finance bill with loan assistance. Unfortunately, this provision was also blocked by House GOP opposition.
Affordability of Daily Life
High prices driven by tariffs, rising gas prices from the war in Iran, and deep cuts in federal funds are hurting people. As chair of the Finance Committee, I pushed for key investments to help struggling Minnesotans and backfill cut federal funds. As a result, the Senate passed energy assistance to help low-income Minnesotans heat their homes in light of federal cuts.
The Senate also approved funding to reduce the shortfall in Minnesota’s Higher Education Student Grant program, more compensatory aid to schools serving academically disadvantaged students, and support for food banks and shelves to address rising hunger.
Unfortunately, the House GOP caucus unanimously opposed this funding. The final compromise secured some funding – a fraction of the real need – for food banks and shelves and compensatory aid for schools.
I fear the affordability crisis will continue to get worse as the Trump Administration prioritizes more giveaways to wealthy CEOs at the expense of working families. I will continue to push for fair tax and economic policies that ensure that all people can support their families.
Keep in Touch
Please feel free to reach out to my office to let us know what is important to you. Contact me: 651/296-5645 or sen.john.marty@mnsenate.gov or my staff at the Capitol: Killian Becker, Legislative Assistant and Elspeth Cavert, Finance Committee Administrator at killian.becker@mnsenate.gov and elspeth.cavert@mnsenate.gov.
Best,
