MN Legislature sends immigrant care cut to Walz as work continues on budget

Minnesota lawmakers on Monday afternoon approved a bill to end state-funded health insurance coverage for adult immigrants in the U.S. illegally, a key component of a hard-earned budget deal between legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz.

Lawmakers are back at the Capitol for a special legislative session to complete a $66 billion two year-state budget they failed to pass before the regular session ended last month. Significant parts of state government could shut down at the end of the month if they don’t approve new spending.

With approval in both the Demcoratic-Farmer-Labor Majority Senate and House tied between the DFL and Republicans, the immigrant health care measure now heads to the governor’s desk to be signed into law. It’ll end MinnesotaCare coverage for around 17,000 people.

Republican supporters say ending coverage will save the state money, as enrollment in the program is three times higher than originally expected, but DFL opponents decried the bill as cruel as it will end insurance coverage for people who need cancer treatment or dialysis.

“This is not about money, this is about demonizing and othering a group of people who are doing some of the hardest and most essential work in their society,” said House DFL Floor Leader Jamie Long, a Minneapolis representative who authored the 2023 bill providing the benefits. “This bill is cruel, it is inhumane, it will cost real human Minnesotan lives.”

House GOP Leader Harry Niska pointed out that Democrat-run California and Illinois are also working to end similar programs, and that Minnesota should send a message that “taxpayer-funded benefits are not a reward for breaking federal immigration laws.”

“The government is not the church, it is not a charity … We are stewards, and existing law is poor stewardship, and that’s what we’re here to fix,” said Niska, a representative from Ramsey. “The question before us is simple. Will we continue down a path of fiscal recklessness or will we act now to protect Minnesota taxpayers?”

Republicans have estimate that with higher than expected enrollment the state could end up spending three times the original $200 million DFLers appropriated for coverage in 2023. As of April, MinnesotaCare had spent around $3.9 million on claims since coverage started at the beginning of the year.

As the House prepared to vote on the measure, Rep. Maria Isa Perez Vega, DFL-St. Paul, raised her fist and began changting “this ain’t One Minnesota!” referencing fellow DFLer Walz’s gubernatorial campaign slogan. Others joined but went silent after being ruled out of order by GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth.

As part of a budget deal state leaders reached last month, DFL leadership agreed to Republican demands to end MinnesotaCare coverage for for adult immigrants without legal status. Coverage will end after 2025, though children will still be eligible. The benefit just kicked in this year, and more than 20,000 have enrolled.

Many DFLers opposed the change, and when their legisaltive leaders first announced it many Senate and House progressives protested outside the governor’s office. DFL leaders called the move cruel, but said they believed they had to to compromise with Republicans or risk a government shut down.

The measure passed the House 68-65 with just one DFL vote — House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman, who said she’d honor her word on the budget deal.

Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy also made good on her pledge to support the bill, though she was joined by Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, Sen. Rob Kupec, DFL-Moorhead, and Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope. The bill passed 37-30 in the Senate, where the DFL has a one-seat majority.

Walz would have a tough time vetoing it. Republicans managed to get DFLers to agree to tie the activation of health care spending to ending MinnesotaCare coverage for people in the U.S. illegally.

Special session progress

Progress on bills comprising most state spending continued at a steady clip Monday, with human services and education bills seeing votes and debate in both chambers.

Most of the state government only has funding through the end of June after the Legislature failed to pass the majority of the bills that form the roughly $66 billion state budget by the end of the regular legislative session on May 19.

Gov. Tim Walz called a special session so lawmakers can finish their work. State leaders finalized the details in a series of mostly closed meetings over the last few weeks. The Senate and House went into session at 10 a.m. and are expected to finish their work by Tuesday morning.

However, there’s no guarantee that will happen.

Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Republican legislative leaders and the governor may have signed an agreement to finish up the special session by 7 a.m. Tuesday, but nothing can stop other state senators and representatives from introducing amendments and engaging in lengthy debate on controversial bills.

If they manage to get everything done by Tuesday’s deadline, it could prevent tens of thousands of state employees from getting layoff notices warning of a partial government shutdown when the current two-year budget expires June 30.

As of 6 p.m. Monday, lawmakers had cleared the immigrant health care hurdle, though bigger debates on taxes and transportation still loomed.

Tax, transportation bills

GOP lawmakers have expressed reservations about the tax and transportation bills. DFLers have also been skeptical of provisions extending tax exemptions for data centers.

The tax bill includes an increase to the sales tax on cannabis, and Republican leadership had initially said it wouldn’t support any new taxes, and some members may stick to that pledge.

There were also questions about whether a proposal to shift $93 million in sales tax revenue from metro counties to the Metropolitan Council would survive floor votes, as members of both parties might oppose shifting money from local governments to a central planning agency.

Final transportation bill language did not include that piece, however, removing another hurdle for that spending package.

This is a developing story that will update throughout the evening.

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