September 7–13, 2026
A quiet week for passed legislation locally, but Ramsey County joined a regional adult education partnership and several federal bills cleared Congress.
At your front door. The most concrete action this week was local. The Ramsey County Board adopted a move to join the Metro East adult education partnership, now in effect. Under the agreement, adult residents can take classes in reading, math, and English through a shared regional program without having to travel far. Costs are split across the participating cities, so the county gets more program offerings than it could fund alone. This one is done: adopted by the county board on Tuesday, September 8.
From Washington. A handful of federal bills were signed by the President this week, though most land lightly here. A bill (HR 5366) extending federal tax breaks for disaster losses is now law. If you suffered uninsured losses from a federally declared disaster, you can deduct more of that loss than before. Wildfire survivors receiving outside help, from a nonprofit or government fund, won't owe federal income tax on those payments. The window covers disasters declared as far back as late 2019 and runs through early 2027.
A separate measure (HR 2069) now requires certain federal contracts, called "other transaction agreements," to be posted publicly on USAspending.gov. These contracts were previously hidden from the public database, so this is a small but real expansion of what you can look up about where federal money goes.
Several other federal bills this week dealt with matters outside Ramsey County: extending time for an EMS memorial in Washington, D.C., and releasing deed restrictions on an Army Reserve parcel in Paducah, Kentucky.
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Coming up next week:
Free access to federal documents. A bill (HR 9342) that locks in free public access to government publications through libraries and online cleared committee and is headed to a House floor vote. No firm date is set for that vote.
Federal farm security drill. HR 9394 would require the Department of Homeland Security to run a large-scale practice exercise, within four years, involving federal, state, local, and private partners preparing for biological attacks on farms and food systems. It cleared committee and awaits a House floor vote.
Shelter dogs as support animals for border agents. HR 9327 would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to launch a three-year pilot program training dogs adopted from local animal shelters as support animals for officers dealing with grief and trauma. It cleared committee and is awaiting a House floor vote. Local shelters could see adoption interest from the program.
Two other federal measures that cleared committee, one transferring Nevada federal land to state and local governments and one dissolving an internal congressional records advisory panel, have no scheduled floor dates and are unlikely to affect Ramsey County residents directly.
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