Good morning, and happy Tuesday. It's the last day of January.
The Minnesota House Monday passed a bill that allows people in the country without authorization to apply for Minnesota driver’s licenses and state IDs. MPR’s Dana Ferguson reports the House passed the bill by a vote of 69-60. Applicants would have to pass a knowledge and behind-the-wheel test to be eligible for a license. Minnesotans were able to obtain a driver’s license no matter their immigration status prior to 2003 as long as they completed the tests. But former Gov. Tim Pawlenty at that time prohibited those in the country without authorization from obtaining licenses. His administration at the time raised concerns about security following the Sept. 11 attacks. In the 20 years since that policy took effect, immigrants, faith leaders and business groups have pressed lawmakers to change the rule back to what it was before 2003. But the measure came up short under several prior compositions of the Legislature. Advocates for the policy packed the rotunda on Monday, holding up signs that said “licenses for all” and calling out to lawmakers to pass the bill without amendments. They stood outside the House chamber during the hours of debate, singing, dancing and yelling out in support of the change and cheered when the bill passed.
The state Senate unanimously approved a bill Monday to free up $315.5 million from a state highway fund to use as the required matching money for potential federal aid. The House previously passed a bill doing that, but a small wording difference will require one more vote there. The Senate also passed a bill that gives the Minnesota attorney general’s office more funding to help county attorneys prosecute criminal cases. “This funding will get justice for victims and safety for all Minnesotans,” Attorney General Keith Ellison said on Twitter after the Senate vote.
Joining Ellison, several DFL lawmakers urged officials with Sanford Health and Fairview Health Services to slow down on their plans for a merger. The Pioneer Press reports: “This is one of the most significant transactions related to medical care in Minnesota in many, many years,” said Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, addressing the chief executive officers of both medical networks. “We have to ensure that Minnesotans’ access to medical care is not restricted, and costs are not driven up. Looking at comparable transactions around the country, that’s not at all a given.” Added state Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester, “What’s the rush?” Stephenson, chair of the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee, and Liebling, chair of the Health Policy and Finance Committee, hosted a joint legislative hearing Monday on the proposed merger of Sioux Falls-based Sanford and Minneapolis-based Fairview, a proposal that has drawn growing opposition from organized labor and leaders of the University of Minnesota and its medical school.
Gov. Tim Walz is set to sign a bill today to enshrine in state law the right to abortion and other reproductive health services. Walz and DFL leaders have said the measure is a top priority this legislative session. Once signed into law, the bill will cement access to abortion that is currently guaranteed by a state Supreme Court case. It would also expand that right by guaranteeing the right to birth control, sterilization and family planning help. The bill would also prevent local governments from infringing on that right. Supporters have said future courts could roll back the right to an abortion, and they hoped to prevent that. Opponents said the bill goes too far by not putting any limits on abortion. Republican legislative leaders Rep. Lisa Demuth and Sen. Mark Johnson sent Walz a letter Monday urging him to veto the bill, saying Democrats rejected “reasonable amendments with guardrails to protect women and children,” including “prohibiting third trimester abortions with exceptions for the life of the mother, a ban on gruesome partial birth abortions, and a requirement that all abortion facilities be licensed to ensure women are provided the safest environment possible.”
A proposed statewide sick and safe time off policy is steaming ahead at the Capitol, as MPR’s Brian Bakst reports, it cleared the House Ways and Means Committee Monday. A few Minnesota cities have ordinances that say workers can build up time to use when they get sick, fall victim to abuse or have another emergency. The Minnesota House could vote soon on a bill enabling workers statewide to accrue up to 48 hours off per year. Rep. Liz Olson, DFL-Duluth, said about one-third of Minnesota workers lack access to sick time now. “People get sick. You don’t know on a calendar when you’re going to get sick,” Olson said. And this is falling in line with what we’re learning nationally and the sky is not falling in the places where this has been implemented.” Rep. John Petersburg, R-Waseca, said the offering should be left up to employers. “It’s important for us to maintain some sort of hands-off from government, rather than always trying to be the sledgehammer pushing these types of programs,” he said. The proposal is distinct from a long-term paid leave measure also advancing in the Legislature.
MPR News reports the Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday upheld the Walz administration’s “clean cars” plan, after a challenge by the Minnesota Auto Dealers Association. The rules — modeled after regulations in California — are intended to both increase the number of electric vehicles for sale in Minnesota, and reduce the emissions from non-EVs. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency first proposed the rules in 2019, and a state administrative law judge signed off on the rules in 2021. Auto dealers have pushed back, saying electric and low-emissions cars aren’t what consumers want. They also have said the rules would saddle dealers with unsold inventory and send buyers elsewhere. A three-judge panel — including the court’s chief judge, Susan Segal — wrote in its ruling released Monday that the MPCA “did not violate the nondelegation doctrine.” “We also conclude that the MPCA acted within its statutory authority in adopting a uniform statewide motor-vehicle emission standard and that Minnesota is an eligible state to adopt the California standards. We thus determine that the Clean Car Rule is valid,” the panel wrote. In a statement Monday, the auto dealers’ association called the ruling “disappointing,” and said the group’s board would consider whether to appeal.
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