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The 2026 Legislative Session is a little less than halfway over with an upcoming adjournment date of May 18th. The past few weeks held jam-packed schedules as committees had to pass policy bills prior to legislative deadlines, which fell right before the start of the legislative break for Easter and Passover. These deadlines, established and agreed on by legislative leadership in the House and Senate, aid in pacing legislative work throughout the session.

The first deadline is the point at which committees must act favorably on bills in the house of origin to stay alive, and the second deadline is for committees to act favorably on bills, or companion bills, that met the first deadline in the other legislative body. This year, both the first and second deadlines were set for March 27th. As a result, for bills to move forward, they had to be acted on favorably in both bodies by that Friday.

The third deadline, set for April 17, is when committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills. One detail to note is deadlines do not apply to the committees on Capital Investment, Ways and Means, Taxes or Rules, and Legislative Administration.

Looking Ahead

Legislative work will resume on April 7 with the conclusion of the legislative break. Moving forward, the remainder of the session will likely include lawmakers continuing to address legislative priorities that have centered on fraud, affordability, immigration enforcement and gun violence. However, according to legislative leaders, progress is proving to be sluggish with a divided house, no established budget targets and a big campaign year on the horizon.

Legislative Retirements

A number of leading Minnesota lawmakers are retiring at the end of the 2025-2026 biennium, including the longest serving member GOP Senator Warren Limmer, DFL Senator Sandy Pappas and Ann Rest. The following link provides an up-to-date list of legislative retirements in 2026.