The Minnesota House passed an omnibus judiciary and public safety bill Wednesday that contains two controversial gun-control measures.
The Senate version of the omnibus bill, which passed earlier this month, doesn’t include the gun-control proposals and the differences between the two bills will have to be sorted out in a conference committee in the coming days, Session Daily reported.
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The DFL-controlled Minnesota House passed an expansive, 473-page environment and natural resources bill that would increase spending in this area by $670 million while raising fees on outdoor activities like fishing and boating.
With about a month remaining in the legislative session, omnibus policy and spending bills are making their way to the floor, including HF2310, which passed late Monday night.
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The Minnesota House passed legislation after seven hours of debate late Thursday night that would require the state’s electricity grid to be 100% carbon-free in 17 years.
This is an unrealistic timeline that could endanger the lives of Minnesotans if it fails while causing their electricity bills to skyrocket, Republicans argued throughout the night.
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The Minnesota House passed the DFL’s keystone “Protect Reproductive Options Act” in a 69-65 vote after four hours of emotional debate Thursday night.
The bill will grant Minnesotans a “fundamental right” to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, via any method and for any reason, with no age restrictions.
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Democratic leadership in the Minnesota House decided to close the chamber gallery Thursday after a group of maskless protesters gathered inside the building to support medical freedom.
The protest took place at the Capitol rotunda, but House Democrats closed the gallery overlooking the chamber, presumably on the orders of House Speaker Melissa Hortman, after it was scheduled to be open to the public Thursday.
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Minneapolis Public Schools explicitly lists critical race theory as a “framework” for its new ethnic studies graduation requirement.
According to left-wing critics, critical race theory is strictly a legal theory developed 40 years ago and since it isn’t explicitly referenced in some K-12 course catalogs, it therefore isn’t taught in the classroom at all.
But “ethnic studies” courses seem to be a popular vehicle for delivering CRT-inspired ideas to young students.
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The Minnesota House approved the housing budget on a vote of 72-59.
The $125 million measure aims to fund a plethora of programs to create more affordable and stable housing.
Included in the budget is an off-ramp to the eviction moratorium.
Renters can only be evicted for “seriously endangering” another tenant or property or who is eligible for renter’s assistance but won’t apply.
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Dennis Smith, an attorney and former Republican state legislator, announced his campaign for attorney general last week.
“I’m running for Attorney General to build a future Minnesotans deserve,” Smith said in a press release. “For too long, the office of Attorney General has been used for politics, and that must end!”
The position is currently occupied by Democrat Keith Ellison, whose office led the successful prosecution of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
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Over the weekend, Democratic candidate John Thompson spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest by the home of police union leader Lt. Bob Kroll. Thompson recently won the Democratic primary for District 62A in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Multiple video coverages of Thompson’s seven-minute speech show him calling for violence against the “racists” of Hugo, Minnesota.
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A Minnesota lawmaker has asked the federal government to withhold federal transportation funds from the state if leaders continue to allow protesters to block highways.
“In the last few months, we have seen two of our primary interstates blocked by protesters, 35 and 94, with the acquiescence of state and local officials. While some arrests have been made, the penalty for this offense is low; it encourages others to protest in the same way,” Rep. Cal Bahr (R-East Bethel) said in a letter sent Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr.
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A Minnesota House committee approved a resolution Tuesday declaring racism a statewide “public health crisis.”
The resolution passed out of the House Rules Committee and now heads to the House floor for debate, with a final vote expected for July 20.
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A north Minneapolis Democrat said his constituents are “facing a real emergency” as the city continues to experience alarming levels of gun violence.
“Every Minnesotan deserves to be safe in their own neighborhood, but right now many people are experiencing gun violence at unsustainable levels,” Rep. Fue Lee (DFL-Minneapolis) said in a statement released Saturday. “The neighborhoods I represent in north Minneapolis are facing a real emergency.”
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Minnesota will waive its witness requirements for absentee ballots for the statewide primary election in August under the settlement of two lawsuits sparked by the health threat from the coronavirus pandemic.
The lawsuits were filed by political arms of the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and the Minnesota Alliance for Retired Americans. A Ramsey County judge signed off on the consent decree with the retirees Wednesday while a federal judge scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the league’s case.
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Nine more Republican lawmakers have joined a lawsuit against Gov. Tim Walz regarding his use of emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Yet another resolution to end Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency declaration was rejected Friday, but this time the proposal received bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
The resolution passed the Republican-controlled Senate in a vote of 38-29, with three Democratic senators joining Republicans in voting to end the governor’s emergency powers, which first took effect March 13 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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A DFL lawmaker revealed on Twitter this week that she’s “tried a bunch of times” to get a portrait of President Abraham Lincoln removed from the Minnesota House chamber.
State Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein (DFL-New Brighton) said it’s “hard to look at” House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) when she’s “standing in front of Lincoln.”
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Several small business owners called for reopening the economy during a Monday press conference at the Minnesota Capitol.
“We desire to honor our God, and our government and governor. We think we can do both. But we have no idea how to get a plan approved, to whom to submit it, or if anyone needs to or will consider it. The church needs to gather, we are more the church when we gather than at any other time. Please, Gov. Walz, help us by providing clear ways for plans to be approved and for us to meet,” said Rory Martin, pastor of the Liberty Baptist Church in Eden Prairie.
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The DFL-controlled Minnesota House rejected a third resolution this week that would have ended Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency declaration.
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A legal organization said members of the Minnesota Legislature are holding committee meetings in small groups in order to avoid triggering the state’s “Open Meeting Law.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota said legislators have been deliberately meeting in small groups so they can bypass the law, which generally requires that all meetings be open to the public.
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The DFL-controlled Minnesota House voted Tuesday against two resolutions that would have ended Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency declaration and voided his coronavirus-related executive orders.
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Minnesota House Republicans introduced a resolution Monday that would end Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency declaration and restore power in responding to the pandemic to the State Legislature.
The resolution was introduced shortly after Walz announced that he has extended the state’s peacetime emergency for 30 days, which allows the governor to act unilaterally in adopting “necessary orders and rules.”
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Minnesota House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) apologized Tuesday after a video showed him flipping off his Republican colleagues.
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The Minnesota Legislature passed a $330 million omnibus bill this week to address the coronavirus pandemic, but some Republican lawmakers were frustrated with the unprecedented lack of transparency in the process.
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A DFL bill seeks to close Minnesota’s “gender wage gap” by prohibiting employers from asking about an applicant’s past pay.
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A bill introduced Monday in the Minnesota House would pull public funding from libraries that host “drag queen story hour” performances for children.
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Archbishop Bernard Hebda urged clergy in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to “abstain from voting” in Minnesota’s March 3 presidential primary.
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The Minnesota House passed two controversial gun control bills Thursday night after hours of contentious debate.
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Minnesota Management and Budget’s annual February economic forecast projected a budget surplus of $1.513 billion for the 2020-21 budget cycle.
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A Democrat-backed bill making its way through the Minnesota Legislature seeks to repeal the state’s informed consent laws for abortion.
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A House bill that seeks to replace all male pronouns in the Minnesota Constitution with gender-neutral language cleared its first committee Tuesday.
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House DFLers announced a package of one-time appropriations last week totaling more than $190 million for “solutions that address the climate crisis.”
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A new DFL-backed bill would prohibit local governments from contracting with federal agencies like ICE for the purpose of detaining illegal immigrants.
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A new bill introduced in the Minnesota House would allow gun owners to pursue civil litigation if they suffer an injury, or worse, while in a gun-free zone.
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Minnesota Republicans introduced a bill that would create a new felony offense for organizations that train “eco-terrorists.”
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A group of Minnesota House Democrats introduced a bill this week that would require restaurants to serve certain drinks as the “default beverage” for children’s meals.
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The Minnesota Legislature kicked off its 2020 legislative session Tuesday, but the House began with an unexpected debate about whether or not it should even be meeting.
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Minnesota House Democrats said they will once again prioritize gun control and climate change during the upcoming legislative session.
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Republican state lawmakers have asked two more Minnesota counties to become Second Amendment “sanctuary” jurisdictions, which are areas that refuse to enforce gun control measures.
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Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday that he raised more than $1 million in 2019 for his reelection, but he won’t face voters again until 2022.
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Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday that he raised more than $1 million in 2019 for his reelection, but he won’t face voters again until 2022.
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Two national Democratic groups filed a lawsuit against Minnesota Thursday in an effort to eliminate the state’s “unconstitutional” restrictions on voter assistance.
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Two DFL lawmakers plan to introduce a “Religious Freedom Day” resolution that condemns “Islamophobia” and celebrates “religious pluralism.”
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A Minnesota senator said he is “deeply disturbed” by House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler’s (DFL-Golden Valley) threat to cut state aid from Beltrami County after it voted to opt out of refugee resettlement.
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Several Republican members of the Minnesota House announced a bill Thursday that would repeal the city of St. Paul’s new college savings program.
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A high-ranking Minnesota lawmaker is threatening to withhold state aid from Beltrami County after it became the first county in the state to opt out of refugee resettlement.
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A graduate of the Justice Democrats’ “Movement School” recently launched a campaign for Minnesota House District 60A, which was left vacant after the passing of Rep. Diane Loeffler (DFL-Minneapolis).
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Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Jodi Harpstead presented her “90-day report” to state lawmakers Monday morning, but the two-hour hearing before the House Health and Human Services Committee may have produced more questions than answers.
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Officials in Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS) allegedly wanted to cut a new check to a child care center that had its bank account frozen by the Office of Foreign Asset Control because of the account owner’s association “with a Taliban official,” emails obtained by a state representative show.
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A Minnesota nonprofit seeking to protect children from “exploitation, indoctrination, and violence” was denied booth space at the Minnesota School Boards Association’s (MSBA) annual “Leadership Conference.”
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House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) caused an uproar Friday when it was announced that he would be working for a lobbying firm as its director of public affairs while still serving in the Minnesota Legislature.
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