Legislative Update
Dear Neighbor,
We are finally coming to the last few days of session. We will be working through the weekend, hearing bills on the floor today, Saturday, and Sunday until midnight. Monday will be the last day of this year’s session, and this biennium of the legislature will officially come to a close. Bills are not allowed to be passed on Monday, however, we will hear speeches from members who are retiring. Still, with only a few days left, the majority continues to rush full speed ahead on several very partisan bills.
On Wednesday night, in the middle of speeches before passage, the speaker just called for the roll, disregarding all the minority members standing to speak. She then ignored all minority members and took motions from the majority leader, not recognizing or allowing any minority member to speak. She took votes on the motions, ignored calls for division and rules objections. The speaker ignored rules, standard operating procedures, and rammed through her agenda, and adjourned. The voices of 64 house districts were ignored, and you my constituents were ignored.
Illegal Changes to Elections
Earlier in the year, I talked a bit about the Elections or the “Re-Elect Trifecta Bill”. On Monday, this bill came back from a conference committee where changes between House and Senate versions were negotiated. There were some positive changes including some funding for campaign treasurer training, which is overall a reasonable provision to ensure that campaign finance laws are being adhered to. Further, the conference committee report made necessary changes to a provision that would have considered professional experts who testify in the committee as lobbyists. This was problematic as it would have ultimately led to less expert testimony and worse bills written by those of us who may not be experts on a particular subject that requires legislation. It also provides funding to college campuses to host voting sites on campus. Previously, these costs would have been taken on by the schools themselves.
However, the major issues within the bill remained through conference committee. In an era of declining trust in our electoral system, maintaining election integrity is crucial. However, this bill raises concerns. It allows voter registration without a verifiable address, distorts redistricting by counting prison inmates as residents of their previous address, and includes the Minnesota voters’ rights provision, which seeks to replace the electoral college with the national popular vote (NPV), having Minnesota’s electors chosen by voters outside Minnesota. This would diminish the voice of smaller rural states in presidential elections, giving control to populous cities and metro areas. Additionally, the bill fails to comply with federal election law regarding provisional ballots and the requirement of an actual address.
Even though some decent provisions were added to the conference committee, the glaring areas of issue within the original bill remain. This bill will make our elections less secure, and ultimately help Democrats steer elections in their favor.
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) put forth before our state legislature today is not your grandma’s ERA of the 1970’s. This version veers completely away from the original intent, and instead if passed, would end women’s sports, bathrooms and locker rooms separated by sex, and even things such as boys and girls clubs. The amendment also does not list religion once again putting religious freedom in jeopardy in Minnesota. Finally, this amendment allows Democrats to hand-pick a select few groups to be protected from discrimination when in reality, no Minnesotan should be subject to discrimination.
Republicans planned to offer multiple amendments to this constitutional amendment proposal to address many of those concerns last Monday when it was originally scheduled to be heard. However, the amendment was temporarily tabled. At this point, it is unclear if or when Democrats will bring the ERA back to the floor for debate.
Update on Religious Freedom
In other better news, the governor signed the bill containing the religious freedom exemption in the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) into law on Wednesday. Just like the ERA, the MHRA, which was changed last year to include sexual identity as a protected class, also failed to include an exemption for religious institutions, putting religious liberty in jeopardy. After over a year and a half of Republicans fighting to protect your First Amendment rights, religious liberty has finally been restored to the MHRA.
Have a great weekend,
Duane Quam
|
