2025 Legislative Priorities: Continuing the fight for a transportation system that puts people first

We know Minnesotans want a transportation system that helps families thrive, keeps neighborhoods healthy, sustains our air and climate, and connects us to work, school, and the people we love. In 2023 and 2024, we secured transformative state policy and funding wins that will improve the lives of every Minnesotan. 

As we face incoming national leaders poised to unravel federal climate progress at the expense of people and planet, our work together at the state level is more important than ever. 

The 2025 state legislative session is off to a disturbing start this winter, with Rep. Lisa Demuth and members of her caucus attempting to take control of the Minnesota House without the obvious legislative majority or legal authority required to do so. As we move forward over the coming months, we are committed to defending the critical transit and climate gains we’ve already made for Minnesota families and we are committed to pushing for new resources, programs, and land use policies that will continue to create and sustain the transit system that our communities deserve and that future generations need to prosper. 

Here’s what Move Minnesota and Move Minnesota Action are prioritizing this legislative session:

Unrestricting billions for transit, biking, walking, and rolling

Minnesotans want healthy, affordable, and sustainable ways to get around—and they support policies that redirect resources to make it happen. Our 2022 statewide poll found that 66 percent of respondents support improving transportation options by “using funding from the state and federal government which would otherwise go to highway expansion.”

But right now, more than $2 billion every year of State of Minnesota transportation resources can only be used for highway projects. We need to make it possible for state and local jurisdictions to flex these state dollars to invest in the more sustainable transportation system we need to strengthen our communities and protect our climate today and for the next generation.

That’s why Move Minnesota, Move Minnesota Action, and our partners have been advocating for legislators to clarify the definition of highway purposes to include infrastructure for walking, biking, rolling, and public transit. In 2024, thanks to advocates like you taking action, we elevated the issue with key lawmakers—emphasizing the need for funding flexibility to ensure our nation-leading “Driving Down Emissions” climate law, which requires state highway projects to curb greenhouse gas emissions, delivers the impact we need for Minnesota families and communities. In 2025, we will continue to make the case to define highway purposes so that more funds can go to the healthy and sustainable transportation options we need to safeguard our futures. 

Making it easier for low-income households to afford transit

For families and workers who are struggling to make ends meet, transportation can be a big barrier to a better future. According to AAA, the average annual cost of car ownership is more than $12,000, while an annual unlimited transit pass is $1,000. Still, for many Minnesotans, every dollar counts and the cost of a standard transit pass can be a challenging expense. 

Right now, Metro Transit’s Transit Assistance Program (TAP) provides annual passes for $1 fares to people who qualify for public assistance programs like Medical Assistance, MinnesotaCare, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), unemployment, energy assistance, or who live in public housing. Compared to a standard $2 fare, TAP can effectively cut a person’s transit costs in half, freeing up more of their household budget to meet other essential needs like rent or child care. But, while the Metropolitan Council estimates 624,000 people in the metro are eligible for the TAP program by income alone, 2021 data suggests just 1 percent are using it. 

In partnership with Second Harvest Heartland and the Nourish MN Coalition, Move Minnesota Action is urging lawmakers to ensure more residents have easy access to the Transit Assistance Program by integrating the application into the MNbenefits portal. By adding this essential program to the portal where Minnesotans already apply for benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), we can make TAP more visible to people it was designed to support, reduce barriers to enrollment, and ensure more people can afford to get around on public transit.

Making our communities more connected 

According to a recent poll, nearly one-third of Minnesotans say they would be more likely to use buses and trains if there were greater access to transit where they live. But it’s hard to provide transit service in some places because too few people live within walking or rolling distance of potential routes and stations. That’s why housing and urban planning are essential to changing how we get around. 

Instead of sprawling development and isolated neighborhoods, we need policies that incentivize more housing and businesses in places that are easily accessible and close to one another—especially around transit stops. 

That’s why, working alongside our partners in the Yes to Home MN Coalition, Move Minnesota Action is advocating for reforms that would make our communities more affordable and accessible. Specifically, we need policies that allow and encourage more housing that is near transit, climate-friendly, and more affordable for Minnesota families.

As our partners at the Yes to Home MN Coalition emphasize: “Today, Minnesotans are experiencing a mismatch in housing choices between what is legal to build and what they need. The Legislature should legalize more housing options—starter homes, townhomes, accessory dwelling units, and apartments—to address our housing shortage.” In 2025, that means advocating for policies that allow and encourage more kinds of housing, especially dense housing, to be built along corridors with high connectivity and transit use. We’re also working together to eliminate minimum parking requirements statewide—a shift that can help communities bring down housing costs, while also encouraging transit use and moving Minnesota closer to our climate goals.

Defending transit and climate progress

Move Minnesota has spent decades successfully securing and fiercely protecting hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for transit, bicycling, walking, and rolling. Our historic funding and policy victories over the past two years are essential for improving and expanding public transit, cutting climate pollution, and improving daily life in Minnesota. In 2025, we are already seeing lawmakers on both sides of the aisle attempt to claw back these wins with unacceptable proposals that would eliminate millions in funding for Metro Transit and prohibit spending on Northern Lights Express passenger rail. These are some of the first attacks we’re facing this year—but they won’t be the last.

Throughout the legislative session, Move Minnesota and Move Minnesota Action are ready to defend against ongoing efforts to limit or reduce investments in public transit and to chip away at Minnesota’s climate progress.

Over the coming months, we’re excited to continue our nation-leading work alongside advocates, coalition partners, and elected champions at the State Capitol. With our big wins for transit and climate in recent years, we know our efforts are building a better future for our families and communities in Minnesota. And we hope you’ll join us in protecting and expanding on this progress in 2025 by fighting for new resources and policies that will make it possible for more Minnesotans to bike, walk, roll and take public transit. 

Stay tuned for ways to be involved and make a difference with us throughout the legislative session!