2026 LEGISLATIVE REVIEW
Feature
Rep. Duane Quam DISTRICT 24A
Rep. Tina Liebling DISTRICT 24B
As you reflect on the 2026 legislative session, what legislation will have a significant impact on the Rochester area business community? Republicans were able to leverage the tie in the State House to extend Minnesota’s
As you reflect on the 2026 legislative session, what legislation will have a significant impact on the Rochester area business community?
Rochester’s economy—like that of the country—is being battered by Republican tariffs, cuts to health care and SNAP, and the ill-conceived and illegal war against Iran. This session, health care changes imposed by Republicans in Congress forced Minnesota to enact new bureaucratic reporting requirements that will cause thousands of Minnesotans to be kicked off Medicaid. The same legislation removed Medicaid eligibility for legal immigrants who are refugees or victims of domestic violence. Lack of health insurance does not, of course, keep people from getting sick. It ensures that they wait to seek care until they are very sick. When they go to the ER for care, health care providers often must provide it without payment, putting their economic viability at risk. This also crowds ERs and makes health care more expensive for everyone. What are your takeaways from the 2026 session? In the Trump era, the GOP is an ideological party: they’re more interested in following Trump’s whims and getting views on right wing media than doing what’s best for our state’s people and economy. While there are a few pragmatic Republican legislators in the House, they are increasingly overshadowed by those focused on partisan grandstanding. This makes power-sharing impractical and hamstrings the legislature’s ability to respond to the needs of Minnesotans. Democrats want to build shared prosperity and invest in our future – including the future business environment – while Republicans support chaotic, bad-for-business policies like deep cuts to health care and higher education and allowing ICE to lawlessly ravage our communities and terrorize our immigrant neighbors.
Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET) provision through the 2027 tax year. Pass-through entities (like S-corporations and partnerships) ordinarily pass their profits directly to the owner's personal tax returns to avoid double taxation. However, federal law caps personal deductions for state and local taxes at $10,000. By extending Minnesota's optional PTET, we allow the business itself to pay the state tax. This completely bypasses the federal cap, shifts the tax to a deductible business expense, and saves Minnesota business owners thousands on their federal income tax returns. We also passed $125 million in property tax relief and $254 million in car tab fee relief, while blocking income tax increases and a radical wealth tax that would have dried up investment in our state. What are your takeaways from the 2026 session? I’m always willing to work with both sides of the aisle to solve problems and achieve positive change for Minnesotans. Since the 2017-2018 biennium, Vanderbilt University’s Center for Effective Lawmaking has consistently ranked me as one of the top five Republicans in the Minnesota House for effectiveness. This year, we passed significant bipartisan anti-fraud legislation: the Office of the Inspector General Bill and the Take It Back Act. Even so, I’m concerned about the future of Minnesota from an economic perspective. Minnesota isn’t an island, and we need to have a competitive business environment in both regulatory and taxation policies. We can’t implement measures such as taxing Minnesotans on unrealized capital gains. Many farmers and business owners would have to sell land and assets to pay the tax, and prospective investors would look elsewhere. It is important for Minnesotans to be aware that socialism has never been successful.
14 | ROCHESTER AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ADVANTAGE MAGAZINE — AUGUST 2026
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