Abortion bills pass committee, could trigger Supreme Court challenge

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A pair of anti-abortion rights bill are moving through the Minnesota House and Senate this week. On Tuesday, a Senate committee passed a bill to ban abortion at 20 weeks gestation. And in the House and Senate a bill to ban taxpayer funding for abortion was passed out of committee. It was clear from testimony on both sides of the debate that Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life and Republican lawmakers are seeking a high-profile lawsuit on the issue of abortion, and the bill to ban taxpayer funding for abortion is structured so that a challenge would go directly to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Senator Dave Thompson, R-Lakeville, introduced the bill to ban taxpayer funding for abortion. Continue Reading

Legislators push for domestic partner benefits for state employees

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A slate of 35 DFLers introduced legislation on Monday that would allow state employment contracts to include benefits for same-sex domestic partners. The bill aims to restore benefits that were offered during the administration of Gov. Jesse Ventura but repealed under pressure from Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Republican legislators in 2003. HF1438 states, “If a collective bargaining agreement or plan provides state paid health insurance for spouses of employees, the insurance must be made available to domestic partners of state employees on the same terms and conditions.” The bill also defines the term domestic partners as a same-sex couple as two adults who “(1) are responsible for each other’s basic common welfare; (2) share a common residence and intend to do so indefinitely; (3) are not related by blood or adoption to an extent that would prohibit marriage in this state; and (4) are legally competent and qualified to enter into a contract.” In 2000, then-Gov. Jesse Ventura included domestic partner benefits for the following biennium. Continue Reading

Klobuchar, Peterson break with party to vote against EPA

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Collin Peterson are two Minnesota Democrats who broke with their party on restrictions to the Environmental Protection Agency in its monitoring and enforcement of greenhouse gases. Klobuchar’s votes were criticized by environmental groups while at least one conservative took her to task for not supporting strong enough restrictions. Continue Reading

Klobuchar, Peterson break with party to vote against EPA

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Collin Peterson are two Minnesota Democrats who broke with their party on restrictions to the Environmental Protection Agency in its monitoring and enforcement of greenhouse gases. Klobuchar’s votes were criticized by environmental groups while at least one conservative took her to task for not supporting strong enough restrictions. During the budget showdown, Peterson played an important role in a controversial measure to prevent the EPA from monitoring greenhouse gases. Environment Minnesota, in an email to supporters, blasted Klobuchar for her votes last week. “With these votes, Sen. Klobuchar had a choice: stand up for the health of our children, elderly citizens and other vulnerable populations, or do the bidding of America’s biggest polluters. Continue Reading

Franken wants wars to be paid for, legislation will make sure ‘future wars don’t make our deficit and debt problem worse’

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Sen. Al Franken introduced legislation on Wednesday that would require Congress to pay for future wars and ensure that they do not add to the federal budget deficit. The Pay for War Resolution gives Congress the option to finance war through budget cuts, creating new revenue or a combination of both budgetary means. Franken said the bill is meant to avoid a repeat of the $1.25 trillion that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have added to the national debt. “We have to ensure that Iraq and Afghanistan remain anomalies in American history,” Franken said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “And that’s what my resolution seeks to do. Continue Reading

School voucher debate riles Minnesota Senate

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On Tuesday, Minnesota Senators debated whether taxpayer funds should be used to pay for private religious school tuition as part of an omnibus tax bill. Republicans hope the proposal, which is modeled after one in Arizona and has been dubbed a “backdoor voucher” system by some, will pass constitutional muster. The U.S. Supreme Court released a decision on Arizona’s system on Monday that could boost state Republicans’ hopes, but DFLers say regardless of the measure’s constitutionality it represents the GOP’s ultimate goal of “dismantling” public education altogether. Sen. Katie Sieben, DFL-Newport, introduced an amendment to the tax bill that would delete a program that allows large tax breaks for low-income families to be used for private school tuition. “At a time that our school districts are cutting back, we need put our money into our public schools instead of putting taxpayer money into private and religious schools,” she said. Continue Reading

Republican tenther bill would ban ‘Obamacare’ in Minnesota

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Republicans in the Minnesota House are pushing legislation that would ban the Affordable Care Act from being implemented in the state under the grounds that it violates the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The bill calls the law “unconstitutional,” declares it “void” in Minnesota and directs all state agencies to halt implementation of any aspect of health care reform. “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), enacted by the federal government, is inconsistent with the powers reserved under the ninth and tenth amendments, is an encroachment upon those reserved powers, and is an exercise of authority not delegated to Congress,” HF1351 states. The authors point to a decision by a conservative Florida judge as justification for the Minnesota Legislature to rule health care reform unconstitutional. The bill says, “The legislature of the state of Minnesota, on behalf of the citizens of this state and to secure the blessings of liberty, hereby asserts its legitimate authority to interpose between its citizens and the federal government, when it has exceeded its constitutional authority and declares that the state shall not participate in PPACA, which is void and of no effect.” Continue Reading

School vouchers for D.C. parents passes U.S. House

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A bill to continue a defunct school voucher program in Washington, D.C., passed the U.S. House on Wednesday afternoon by a largely party-line vote. Reps. Michele Bachmann, Chip Cravaack, John Kline and Erik Paulsen voted for the measure while Reps. Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum, Collin Peterson and Tim Walz voted against the bill. The controversial program has been criticized as ineffective and essentially a tool to funnel taxpayer money to religious schools. Continue Reading

Ban on tax-funded stem cell research passes Senate, House

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A ban on somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), a technique used in some forms of stem cell research, passed the House and Senate floors on Tuesday evening in a pair of higher education budget bills. The bills would prohibit state or federal funding from going toward SCNT stem cell research. The two bills are headed to conference committee, where the two bodies will hash out the parts of the bills that differ. Gov. Mark Dayton indicated in a letter to legislators that he would veto a bill that contained the stem cell bans, citing them as policy issues that don’t belong in budget bills. In the House, Rep, King Banaian (R-St. Continue Reading

Minnesota GOP seeks to defund family planning programs

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Senate Republicans are working to defund family planning programs in Minnesota and prevent the state from accepting federal family planning dollars. The health and human services budget bill slashes money for programs that provide services to families either seeking to become pregnant or to prevent becoming pregnant. Those funds cannot be used to perform abortions or provide referrals to abortion services. The move mirrors a push by Republicans at the federal level to defund Planned Parenthood. Along with county public health departments, Planned Parenthood clinics in Minnesota are a major beneficiary of family planning funds. Continue Reading