Good morning. It’s full steam ahead in the #mnleg

It was a somber kickoff to a legislative session that will be colored by multiple tragedies as lawmakers came together for the first time since one of their colleagues was killed. In what felt like a state of the state address, both chambers came together in the House to share remembrances of the late House Speaker Melissa Hortman. Several lawmakers wore green or pinned green ribbons to their jackets in memory of Hortman and they carried roses to her desk in the chamber. Hortman’s son, Colin, and other family members, friends and former colleagues filled the galleries and looked on. Gov. Tim Walz, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, House Speaker Lisa Demuth and House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson shared memorial speeches about Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark. They called Hortman the “heart and soul” of the House and lifted her up as the most consequential speaker in state history. And they urged lawmakers to think about how Hortman would address a situation if they ever turn to anger or blame. “We have a choice. Will we devolve into the familiar and increasingly dangerous partisan divide, or will we do what I believe Melissa would want us to do, to lead with conviction and a plan for Minnesota,” Murphy said. 

The Senate welcomed back a member who was targeted the same night as Hortman was killed. State Sen. John Hoffman was also shot in June, along with his wife, Yvette. He returned to the chamber yesterday to rounds of applause. He delivered an emotional speech to his peers. “When you survive an attempted assassination, you look at the world differently,” Hoffman said, as he thanked his family, friends and first responders who helped him that night. “What remains is what’s truly important — family, community and the responsibility that we have to care for one another.”

The committee agenda and Capitol rotunda calendar are booked today as lawmakers get back to the full swing of the legislative session with a condensed timeline. Two central issues on the docket today: fraud and response to the federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota. A House Human Services Committee will get an early briefing on updates to Minnesota’s new fraud prevention laws and consider repealing housing stabilization services. The program was shut down last year after widespread fraud was reported. A Senate panel will also hear from the Department of Revenue about efforts to mitigate fraud. Lawmakers in a variety of committees will also consider a set of proposals aimed at limiting where immigration enforcement agents can conduct operations, provide additional financial help to people who couldn’t leave home due to ICE’s surge in Minnesota and add penalties for protesting at an official’s home or releasing personal information about a public safety officer. 

Gov. Tim Walz told reporters that he hopes bipartisan fraud fixes are easier to come by now that he’s opted not to run for a third term.  He said he would support a proposal to create an Office of the Inspector General and planned to put out a package of additional policies to prevent or detect fraud in state programs. “If the Republicans want to fix fraud, this is their moment,” he said. “If they get a bill to me an inspector general, I'll certainly sign it. But that is just one piece of it. There's a lot of other tools we need.” Speaking more broadly about his ability to negotiate and to leverage political capital now that he’s out of the governor’s race, Walz said he’s “freed up” now that he doesn’t have to worry about campaigning. “I think that's a powerful tool,” Walz said. “I'm going to be the one in the middle of them that brings both together. And I think I can take some difficult positions if it means getting things done.”

The governor also weighed in about his potential political future and those of three Republican gubernatorial candidates serving in the House . When asked about whether he’d want to be appointed to the U.S. Senate if Amy Klobuchar becomes governor after him, Walz said he’d rather “eat glass” than go back to Washington right now. He also said it shouldn’t affect legislative negotiations having three Republicans – House Speaker Lisa Demuth, Rep. Kristin Robbins and Rep. Peggy Bennett – running for governor. “I kind of feel like their campaigns ended the same day mine did. So I think all three of us, if you're saying it's Kristin Robbins, Demuth, then myself, we're kind of all in the same boat. I think for all of us, this will be our last session up here.” 

The Legislature will get the key financial data that guides the session’s parameters on Feb. 27. That Friday is when the state’s new economic forecast will be released by the Department of Minnesota Management and Budget. There are so many more moving parts than usual for the budget agency and its consultants. Federal funding freezes, the immigration operation fallout, a complicated jobs and tax picture and more will make the potential for churn even greater. As a reminder, the economic forecast released in December showed a projected short-term surplus of $2.5 billion in the current budget buttressed by a long-term deficit of $2.9 billion in the two-year period that follows.

The start of a federal trial of a former Minnesota state senator arrested in a prostitution sting has been set for the end of this March. Justin Eichorn was arrested in March of 2025 by an undercover officer posing as a teenage girl. The Republican from Grand Rapids has fought the indictment as a case of selective prosecution because not all of the men arrested in the sting have faced federal charges. But yesterday, a judge rejected Eichorn's bid to have the charges dropped, saying there is no evidence he was singled out. Eichorn resigned from the Legislature after his arrest.

Former St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter made clear yesterday he’s not looking for a political reboot in 2026. Carter spoke to MPR’s Angela Davis about a lifestyle reset following his forced departure from office. He talked about decompressing on a beach, reading to his child’s school classroom and reconnecting with personal activities that don’t mesh well with the demands of running a major city. A caller to the show asked Carter if he would consider challenging U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar for the DFL nomination for governor. Carter took it as a compliment but declined the invitation. “I am looking forward to seeing the case that Senator Klobuchar makes, and looking forward to supporting her as our gubernatorial candidate. I don’t foresee myself running for office in the immediate future at least. I’m not in a space where I’m trying to make long-term declarations.” In a follow-up from Angela, Carter said not now, but left the clear impression that the door wasn’t closed forever.