The Minnesota Legislature is in the home stretch of its 2026 session and many Minnesotans are waiting to see if they're going to get some relief from high property taxes.
Thursday, the Minnesota Senate Taxes Committee is meeting to work on its big bill that includes $100 million in one-time property tax relief and the House Taxes Committee has a bill trying to do the same, but with a much larger piece of the pie.
The House bill would appropriate $4 billion from the state’s general fund for one-time refunds to homeowners. Republican State Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, is co-chair of the House Tax Committee and is sponsoring that bill. He said statewide mandates from the Legislature have caused local governments to raise property taxes.
“They're trying to keep their institutions going. And so if the state can provide some some relief— if we didn't have these unfunded mandates — they'd be in a lot better shape than they are right now,” Davids said.
His bill has drawn criticism from his DFL counterparts who said that wealthier homeowners, who have already received large tax breaks from the federal government, will receive the largest refunds under his bill. Davids said those homeowners also pay more taxes in general.
“That's the old class warfare thing. They're trying to play one group against the other,” he said. “The big houses are supporting schools and counties more than other ones. But that's— I don't want to get in that game. I just want to provide some relief.”
Listen to the full conversation by clicking the player above.