Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership
With a temporarily-tied Senate, a hotly-contested House, and significant disagreements between the two parties, the 2025 session of the Minnesota Legislature is looking to be a contentious one. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have potential upsides for Minnesota’s environment and public health.
MEP and our members are committed to doing everything we can to achieve progress on climate action, environmental justice, and making sure our institutions put people and our planet first. No matter the composition of the Legislature, we’ll be putting in the work. Our intersecting challenges of climate change, pollution, and regulatory capture won’t wait – neither will we.
That’s why we’re proud to release our Collaborative Priorities 2025. This document covers much of what MEP and our members intend to push for at the Legislature this session, from bonding for water infrastructure to new protections for our pollinators. The list may be updated as our members identify new policy priorities, but it paints an initial picture of what our community hopes to achieve.
Some of the items in this priorities list include defense. We achieved tremendous environmental policy wins over the past few years, but we anticipate that polluting industries will do their best to reverse or water down these gains. MEP will work with partners to lobby against any steps backward that could jeopardize the health of Minnesotans, wildlife, or our climate.
The close divisions in state government don’t mean that this priority list is a pipe dream. Some proposals may take multiple years to achieve, as did many of the victories of the historic 2023 session. But others, like wins for water infrastructure, energy efficiency, and our great outdoors, are broadly popular among Minnesotans and can get bipartisan support. As we saw with the massive win for the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund ballot measure in November, these common values bring us together.
Our team looks forward to starting work at the Capitol, and we strongly encourage our subscribers to make your voice heard this session. You can find out about opportunities to speak up by subscribing to our action alerts, which help to connect you with lawmakers when critical issues arise. Your legislators want to hear about the issues you care about.