MARSHALL, Minn. — Representative Chris Swedzinksi and Senator Gary Dahms joined a legislative update via Zoom, hosted by the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. They say the 2026 legislative session is entering a critical stretch, with major decisions still unresolved and only a few weeks remaining before key deadlines.
Rep. Chris Swedzinski said legislators are “right in the middle of it,” noting that committees are working through deadlines and budget discussions following the Easter break. “We’ve got a few big weeks ahead of us here,” he said, adding that bonding, tax conformity, and budget adjustments remain top priorities.
Swedzinski said lawmakers are also looking for potential savings in the budget. “From a budget standpoint, there might be a little bit of… if we can find savings within certain issue areas, we will and then maybe redeploy that or find some tax relief that we could do,” he said.
Efforts to modify policies such as earned sick and safe time and paid family leave have seen limited progress. “We’ve been trying to do some reforms… with not a lot of success on cracking that egg at all,” Swedzinski said.
Sen. Gary Dahms described a similar sense of uncertainty in the Senate, with a key deadline approaching April 17. “There’s a lot of stuff up in the air,” Dahms said. “I think what we’re probably going to see is hopefully we see a bonding bill… but I don’t think we’re going to see a lot going on past that.”
Dahms said some issues, including immigration and gun-related bills, may reach the floor but are unlikely to advance. “I don’t think we’re going to see much movement on either one of those,” he said, adding that it is an election year and lawmakers may want to bring issues forward for public discussion.
Both lawmakers pointed to a recently passed Senate bill addressing prescription drug discounts for hospitals as a key development. Dahms said the measure is “very important… for our local hospitals” and could have “a major impact on our rural hospitals” if approved by the House.
Tax policy remains another area of disagreement. Swedzinski said efforts to move a pass-through entity tax provision have stalled. “We’re kind of far apart on taxes,” he said. He also noted recent proposals from Democrats, saying, “Just yesterday Democrats had a bill to start taxing unrealized gains and a wealth tax on top of the high taxes that already have.”
Budget concerns also extend to long-term care and services for people with disabilities. Dahms said the lack of spending targets complicates the process. “Without targets, the committee chairs… don’t feel they have any way of spending any money,” he said, adding that final decisions will likely come during end-of-session negotiations.
Both lawmakers expressed concern about shifting costs to local governments. Swedzinski warned that state decisions could result in higher property taxes. “More of that’s going to get continued to be pushed out on counties, property taxpayers across the state,” he said.
Dahms agreed, saying counties have limited capacity to absorb additional costs. “There’s not much room there… we should not be shifting these things down to the county,” he said.
The bonding bill is expected to be the centerpiece of the session. Swedzinski said there appears to be bipartisan willingness to reach an agreement. “I feel like conversations aren’t like, ‘Hey, we need to stop this.’ It’s like, ‘No, let’s try to get something done,’” he said.
He added the bill will likely focus on core infrastructure rather than large-scale projects. “We’re going to see a lot of sewer, wastewater, kind of critical infrastructure stuff,” he said.
Dahms estimated the bonding bill could range between $800 million and $1 billion. “We need to get a good basic bonding bill done,” he said, emphasizing the importance of funding for rural water and infrastructure systems.
Lawmakers also highlighted ongoing concerns about fraud in state programs. Swedzinski described efforts to create a more independent oversight structure with prosecutorial authority. “We’re trying to… create that independent voice to go after and prosecute why it’s so important,” he said.
He pointed to a recent example of alleged overbilling, saying one case showed a jump from about $25,000 in expected services to $400,000 billed. “That’s almost $380,000 for one year of essentially just overbilling the state,” he said.
Dahms said proposals in the Senate include establishing an inspector general with authority to halt payments and pursue legal action. “Until we get to that position… we have to get to something like that before we’re going to get this thing moving totally in the right direction,” he said.
As the session progresses, both lawmakers emphasized that many outcomes remain uncertain. Dahms said negotiations have yet to fully begin. “We haven’t seen what’s going to be on the table to be negotiated yet,” he said.
Despite that uncertainty, he expects a relatively limited finish. “I think it’s going to be a pretty quiet session in the end,” Dahms said, adding that lawmakers will focus on essential fixes and the bonding bill before adjournment.
