Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page [ [link removed] ].






Kristi Pursell Banner




Legislative Update – March 14, 2025

Dear Neighbors,

Due to a special election this week in Roseville and Shoreview, the Minnesota House of Representatives will return to full membership next week as DFL Rep. David Gottfried is sworn in on Monday afternoon. This means that the previously negotiated co-governing agreement will go into effect, with Democrats and Republicans sharing control of committees for the rest of the 2025-26 term. 

I joined Rich and Ryan in the Morning on KYMN this morning to discuss the changing dynamics in the House, our work on the Floor, and an amendment I offered. _Take a listen to the full interview here [ [link removed] ]_

Pursell House Floor

________________________________________________________________________



Community At the Capitol

Even though committee hearings and House Floor sessions are getting busier, I always appreciate taking the time to meet with you, my constituents.

This week I was grateful to have multiple constituent meetings including Northfield High School students, school board members, and Superintendent Dr. Hillman along with the Superintendent from TCU, Kevin Babcock for Minnesota School Boards Association Day.

Students from St. Olaf were at the Capitol two days in a row: the first day for a Reproductive Freedom rally and the next for Private College Council’s Day on the Hill! Thursday was the Family Farm Breakfast with Land Stewardship Project and local farmers who came up to talk about their priorities. I also met with St. Olaf President Singer as well as Mark Quinnell during Insurance Day on Tuesday!

Pursell Constituent Visits

Education is such an important function of our government, especially at a time when _Trump is threatening massive cuts that would put students and schools at risk [ [link removed] ]_. But here in Minnesota, whether pushing for fair funding here in the legislature or supporting our Attorney General who is _suing Trump’s illegal dismantling of the Department of Education [ [link removed] ]_, we are fighting back.

I've got my first bill hearing of this term on Thursday in the Environment Committee (where I will now serve as Co-Vice Chair!) and will meet with Tribal leaders on Monday during our Sovereignty Day in the Legislature.

________________________________________________________________________



Protecting Reproductive Freedom

On Thursday, House DFLers _defeated two GOP anti-abortion bills [ [link removed] ]_. One that would funnel taxpayer dollars to so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” which are deceptive, unlicensed organizations that do not provide reproductive healthcare but market themselves as a resource for those struggling with an unplanned pregnancy. Another bill would put politicians in charge of Minnesotan’s most private, personal healthcare decisions based on the myth of “born alive” abortions–which do not happen in reality.

I spoke on the House Floor against these bills and in favor of spending taxpayer money to improve health care outcomes, especially in rural Minnesota. I offered an amendment to use funding instead for important sexual health education, and STD prevention programs. The amendment failed as expected, but more importantly, so did the underlying bill, which failed to get the 68 votes needed to pass.

Republicans decided their priority in a temporary advantage was to attack Minnesotans’ right to reproductive healthcare–and they failed*. *Both bills were based on litigating old Republican talking points and would do nothing to solve the massive problems we have in our healthcare system. In Minnesota, we believe in a person’s right to reproductive healthcare, and I was proud to vote to uphold that principle last night.

3-13 DFL Defeats Anti-Abortion Bills

________________________________________________________________________



Real ID Taking Effect in May

Beginning May 7, 2025, Minnesotans 18 years of age or older will not be able to use their standard driver's license or identification card to board domestic flights or enter certain federal facilities. Instead, they will need one of three options:


* Minnesota REAL ID driver's license or identification card.
* Minnesota Enhanced driver's license or identification card.
* Other federally-approved forms of identification. They are listed online here, but include:
* U.S. passport or passport card
* Foreign government-issued passport
* U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
* Permanent resident card
* Border crossing card
* Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID
* U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents

If you are not sure which license type is right for you, check out the Driver Vehicle Services’ website _here [ [link removed] ]_.

________________________________________________________________________



Stay Connected!

*Unfortunately, due to technological constraints, replies to this newsletter won’t reach my email account. *To share your input or ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance, please feel free to reach out at [email protected] or call my office 651-296-0171, and I will be happy to help.

You can also follow my Official Facebook Page here [ [link removed] ]. If you were forwarded this email and you’d like to subscribe, click here [ [link removed] ]. If you have a friend or neighbor who would be interested in receiving these, please forward this and encourage them to subscribe!






Representative Kristi Pursell

5th Floor, Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar St.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155

Phone: 651-296-0171
Email: [email protected]"
""(replies to this newsletter are not monitored)"
Website: [link removed] [ [link removed] ]
Legislative Assistant: Johnathan Smith, 651-297-8166







To unsubscribe, visit the Subscriber Preferences Page [ [link removed] ]. If you have questions or experience technical difficulties with this subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com [ [link removed] ].

________________________________________________________________________

This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Minnesota House DFL · 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. · Saint Paul, MN 55155 GovDelivery logo [ [link removed] ]