After heated hearing, bill to block “Obamacare” in Minnesota passes House committee

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After a heated discussion Tuesday evening, the House Health Reform Committee passed a bill along party lines that would halt implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act in Minnesota until the constitutionality of the law is considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. The committee meeting grew contentious as Republicans’ repeated use of the term “Obamacare” led Democrats to consider dubbing the eight-year Iraqi war the “Bush wars,” and DFLers trying to preserve key aspects of the act including a ban on rejecting patients – especially children – who have preexisting health conditions for coverage. Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, the bill’s author, said that voting against his bill amounted to rejecting the “Creator.” HF468 states that state funds cannot be used to implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act until the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it constitutional. In his statement in support of the bill, Gruenhagen said, “I realize people of good will can disagree on this.” Continue Reading

Republicans introduce bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy

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Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature introduced a bill Monday that would ban abortion in Minnesota after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act states that fetuses can feel pain after the first 20 weeks and creates a revenue stream for the state to defend the measure against lawsuits if it passes. It’s the fifth bill to restrict abortions in Minnesota offered by Republicans this legislative session, which began in early January. If the bill becomes law it would be one of the most restrictive in the nation. The bill, SF649/HF936, makes it illegal to perform an abortion after 20 weeks, and, in anticipation of legal challenges to the law, it creates a defense fund for the state using taxpayer money and “any donations, gifts, or grants made to the account by private citizens or entities.” Continue Reading

Minnesota Democrats vow to fight anti-gay marriage amendment

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In its DFL Dispatch – an email update to party activists – Minnesota DFL chair Ken Martin said last week that the party will fight to stop a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage from passing in Minnesota. Some LGBT activists had been pressuring the party to make a bold statement in its communications about the issue. In the email, Martin said, “We will work hard to ensure that the GOP is not successful in their quest to write discrimination into our state constitution.” A Change.org petition was created that urged the party to to get engaged in fighting a constitutional amendment, something the GOP has hinted they have planned for 2012. “Please be clear about where the DFL Party stands on LGBT equality,” the petition asked. Continue Reading

Minnesota Reps. taking heat for moves to block EPA

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Environmental groups are going after Minnesota members of Congress who have voted to block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas pollution. A recent poll shows that votes by Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann and Chip Cravaack aren’t popular in their districts, and Rep. Collin Peterson, a Democrat, is getting attacked from both sides – the GOP says his stance against EPA regulation is “wishy washy,” while interest groups say he’s siding with foreign oil producers.In late February, the U.S. House voted to bar the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gasses as air pollution in an amendment to the government spending bill. That bill would be valid for the rest of 2011. Voting for the ban were Republican Reps. Continue Reading

New bill aims to curb rising HIV rates

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Minnesota legislators have introduced a bill that would create Minnesota’s first public education campaign about HIV/AIDS. New HIV infections have spiked in Minnesota over the past two years, leading public health organizations to look for ways to curb the epidemic here. SF 466 would direct the Minnesota Department of Health to develop a statewide campaign that provides information both to the general public and distinct communities. The bill was introduced in the Senate late last week by Sen. Scott Dibble of Minneapolis, Sen. John Marty of Roseville and Sen. Sandy Pappas of St. Paul. Continue Reading

Acknowledging long odds, legislators offer anti-bullying bill

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A bill that would direct school boards to adopt stringent anti-bullying policies was introduced in the Minnesota Senate on Monday. The bill would add disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and several other characteristics to existing anti-bullying policies. Minnesota, and in particular the Anoka-Hennepin School District, has been at the center of the anti-bullying debate after a spike in student suicides where bullying is believed to have been a factor.The bill is authored by openly gay Sen. Scott Dibble of Minneapolis along with DFLers Teri Bonoff of Minnetonka, Charles Wiger of Maplewood, and Tony Lourey of Kerrick. It’s similar to a bill offered in 2009 that passed the legislature but was vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The bill reads: By January 1, 2012, a school board must adopt a written policy that prohibits harassment, bullying, intimidation, and violence based on, but not limited to, actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, physical characteristics, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. Continue Reading

Drazkowski offers GOP’s fourth bill to repeal women’s pay equity act

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Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, has introduced another version of his bill to repeal the Pay Equity Act (PEA), a program started in the 1980s that ensures that women are paid a comparable wage to men in local government jobs. As of Thursday, when Drazkowski introduced his new bill, Republicans have authored four bills this session aimed at repealing the Pay Equity Act. Twenty-two Republicans in the House and Senate are sponsoring the legislation; 21 of the sponsors are men.  The original repeal of the PEA was contained in a broader bill authored by Drazkowski that repealed a number of local government mandates; a similar bill is pending in the Senate. Senate Republicans then offered a standalone bill to repeal fair pay laws, and Drazkowski’s bill (HF698) introduced on Thursday brings the total tally of bills to four.Democrats blasted Republicans for attempting to repeal the law earlier this month. St. Continue Reading

Dems answer GOP’s four anti-abortion bills with Reproductive Privacy Act

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Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature have offered four identical bills so far this session to ban state funds from going to abortion services. The DFL answered back with a bill of its own on Monday. The Reproductive Privacy Act would ensure that rights to birth control, legal abortion and the choice of carrying a pregnancy to term are protected. The bill, HF646, reads: (1) every individual has the fundamental right to choose or refuse birth control; (2) every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child or to choose and obtain an abortion before fetal viability or to terminate the pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman; and (3) the state shall not deny or interfere with a woman’s fundamental right to choose to bear a child or to choose to obtain an abortion. It also says that state, county and local governments cannot discriminate against the right to reproductive health care. Continue Reading

Minnesotans react to Wisconsin labor protests

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As protests in Wisconsin continue over a proposed scaling back of collective bargaining for the state’s public employees, Minnesota’s elected leaders are weighing in on both sides. Reps. Keith Ellison and Tim Walz have sent their support, while Gov. Mark Dayton said that curtailing workers rights would not happen in Minnesota. Potential presidential contenders Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann have sided with Wisconsin’s Republican governor, Scott Walker. In a video posted on YouTube, Rep. Keith Ellison, along with his fellow co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus Rep. Raúl Grijalva, said he was proud of the workers of Wisconsin.”We are enormously proud of you,” Ellison said. Continue Reading

Ellison: Egyptians gave strong rebuke to al-Qaeda and religious extremism

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Rep. Keith Ellison says that the non-violent protests in Egypt delivered a strong rebuke of the tactics of al-Qaeda and religious extremism. In an interview with the Voice of America, he also said that concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt were overblown, noting that the group’s popularity is low. On al-Qaeda and religious extremism, Ellison said, “They also say that the only way to achieve change is through violence and terrorism and murder. Well, the people in Tahrir Square showed that if you stick, and you stay, and you stand up for what you believe in, that you will be successful and you don’t have to harm anybody to do it.” Republicans have claimed that President Barack Obama is too friendly with the Muslim Brotherhood, but Ellison said the controversial group does not have majority status. Continue Reading