Daily Digest for February 19, 2021 Posted at 7 a.m. by Sara Porter |
Welcome to Friday,
A $35 million plan to pay for an additional police presence during the trial of one of the former officers charged in the death of George Floyd failed to pass in the Minnesota House Thursday night. The bill failed by a vote of 71-63, with seven DFLers joining all Republicans in opposition.
It was Democrats' second time trying to pass the bill, the measure had stalled out due to a lack of support earlier in the week, but police organizations urged lawmakers to try again. The coalition said the bill provided "an opportunity to work together, and policing in the coming months will be harder without its passage."
House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Zimmerman, took issue with language that was added to bill earlier that sets out requirements for departments involved in “Operation Safety Net” about how police will deal with protests.
Of the DFLers against the bill, almost all of them were from Minneapolis and St. Paul. Read the full report by Brian Bakst here.
A governor could no longer use emergency powers to close schools under a bill that the Minnesota Senate passed Thursday.
Lawmakers voted 40-27 in favor of the bill, with some Democrats joining Republicans on the prevailing side.
“Schools make decisions based upon the individual needs of their districts all the time,” said Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, who introduced the bill. “It’s just not possible for the governor to unilaterally make one decision that fits all of the schools in all or our 87 counties with all of their different needs.”
Several Democrats spoke against the bill including Sen Chuck Wiger, DFL-Maplewood, who said “Do not tie the hands, do not gag the governor or a future governor, whoever he or she might be." Read the full report by Tim Pugmire.
In National politics, Congressional Democrats unveiled an immigration bill, backed by President Biden, which includes setting up a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
But its fate in Congress, which has rejected such measures for the past two decades, is uncertain. Learn more about the bill in this report by NPR.
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