End of session but not the end of legislative work

Thanks to all who joined us for Time to Act on 5/18! (Register for the June 1 Time to Act now!) We were delighted to have Representative Kristin Bahner join us to update us on the 2021 session and some of the bills we’ve featured in previous weeks.

Take a Minute to Take an Action

Couldn’t be with us last Tuesday but want to take action on important issues? Here are the instruction sheets for the three issues we took action on - MN Environment and Natural Resources omnibus; expansion of Medicare; THRIVE Act. Please use them to contact MN state and federal policymakers to affect change:

• Contact MN Senators about Environment & Natural Resources Omnibus Bill

• Thank Senator Smith for signing a letter asking Biden to expand Medicare benefits

• Ask Sen. Klobuchar and Smith to co-sponsor the THRIVE Act

If you do take action, please make our day and let us know via admin@womensmarchmn.com, Twitter or Facebook.

Legislative Update

We’re so grateful to Rep. Kristin Bahner (district 34B) for joining us last night to give an update on the MN Legislative session and the upcoming timeline. The 2021 session is officially over, but the work continues. Conference committees have become working groups, made up of five House members and five Senate members. They’ll work until they can reach an agreement on their respective omnibus bills. Ideally, they’ll finish by June 1-4, however, more likely by June 14. Then a special session will be convened; it may last a few hours or a few days until the omnibus bills can be passed and then sent to the Governor to be signed into law. There is A LOT of work to do, but Rep. Bahner said she was optimistic about what can be achieved.

Bills we have been advocating for this session:

• Paid Family and Medical Leave, as well as Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth are looking good

• The bill to strengthen MN Sexual Assault Law, including closing the “intoxication loophole” should also get through

• The bill to ban employers enquiring about a person’s previous wage history did well in the House, but not in the Senate, so that might have to wait another year

• The bill to establish a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Office should pass, but probably not yet the bill to reinstate the Office of Economic Status of Women or the bill to establish a Missing and Murdered African American Women Taskforce

• A record number of policy bills were heard this year, and even if they didn’t pass, they are in the system and ready to work on next year

• The Governor has $500 million to use at his discretion that may provide funding to items that are necessary but not necessarily palatable to GOP

• Gov. Walz is focused on Police Accountability bills, funds to support businesses impacted by last summer’s uprising in the Twin Cities, and funding for education, childcare, and summer school/programs.  

Rep. Bahner encouraged us to be in touch with the Health and Human Services working groups to urge them (and Governor Walz)  to fully fund childcare, nutrition services, home visiting programs, Safe and Sick pay, and more. She also urged us to put pressure on the MN Legislature to pass  Rep. Moller’s bill requiring any sexual assault case involving two members of the Minnesota National Guard to be investigated by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a statewide law enforcement agency.

Lastly, she talked about how important it is to be in touch with your legislators. “They are listening, even if they don’t get back to you. They are tallying how many calls and emails they are getting on bills. Keep it up!”

See you in Two Weeks!

You can register for the June 1 Time to Act now! We will follow up on Rep Bahner’s advice and keep our ear to the ground for other actions. If you have something you’d like us to address, please let us know.