["The work weve done over the last five months will make a
generational impact on our state—it will lower costs, improve lives,
and cut child poverty," said Gov. Tim Walz. ]
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MINNESOTA DEMS SET BAR FOR STATE LEGISLATURES, PASSING NEARLY EVERY
ITEM ON ‘TRANSFORMATIONAL’ AGENDA  
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Julia Conley
May 23, 2023
Common Dreams
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_ "The work we've done over the last five months will make a
generational impact on our state—it will lower costs, improve lives,
and cut child poverty," said Gov. Tim Walz. _

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz hugs students at Webster Elementary School in
Minneapolis on March 17, 2023 after signing a law that makes school
meals free for all public and charter school students., (Photo:
@GovTimWalz/Twitter)

 

Progressives are applauding what Minnesota House Speaker Melissa
Hortman called the state's "transformational"
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session, which ended on Tuesday after the Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Party passed nearly every item on its agenda, securing economic
justice, reproductive rights, and labor protections for Minnesotans.

With the DFL holding only a narrow majority in the state House and
Senate—a six-vote and one-vote margin, respectively—policy
researcher Will Stancil said on social media that "the scale of their
achievement cannot be overstated."

"The Minnesota Legislature just completed what is probably the most
productive session anywhere in the country since probably the New
Deal," he said
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bills and reforms across every area of life."

Stancil was among a number of progressives who highlighted nearly two
dozen bills passed by the DFL and signed into law by Democratic Gov.
Tim Walz, who posted an image of a whiteboard with party's legislative
agenda on it along with the word, "Done."

The party's achievements over the past five months include a statewide
paid family and medical leave program
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which provides 20 weeks of leave; the legalization
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recreational marijuana use; and a law providing free school meals
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all public and charter school students—part of Walz's plan to "make
Minnesota the best state in the country to raise a child."

"The work we've done over the last five months will make a
generational impact on our state—it will lower costs, improve lives,
and cut child poverty," said
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Tuesday.

The party also passed a bill codifying 
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v. Wade
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a nationwide assault on abortion rights, legal protections
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transgender youths who receive gender-affirming healthcare in the
state, and a bill setting a minimum wage for Uber and Lyft drivers,
leading a crowd of drivers to give the legislation's sponsor, state
Sen. Omar Fateh (D-62), a "hero's welcome"
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passed on Sunday.

"Rather than looking at the November numbers result and imposing some
kind of self-limiting narrative about the scope of their mandate,
Minnesota Democrats looked at their priorities and said, 'How much of
the list can we get done?'" said
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"Turns out the answer was 'Almost everything.'"

The party's achievements in Minnesota, said 
[[link removed]]pro-workers'
rights media organization _More Perfect Union_, should "set the
precedent for state governments across the country."

"On the balance," said
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organization, "Minnesota progressives took narrow House and Senate
majorities following years of gridlock—and in their first session in
power, managed to set the bar for Democratic legislatures."

_Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams._

* Minnesota Democratic Party
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* model legislation
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* Tim Walz
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