Dear Neighbor,
Freshmen Republican Representatives took their “class” photo this week. It's been great getting to know all my colleagues!
Conference Committees began meeting this week as well, and have started making progress towards finalizing the budget. However, Governor Dayton has not been actively engaged in this process. In order for the session to end successfully, all three branches of state government need to be fully participating at the end of session.
Legislation Passed by the House:
The House passed legislation Thursday that would prohibit funding for abortions from state sponsored health programs administered by the Department of Human Services, except in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life is endangered. This policy is already in place at the federal level and in 33 other states; I believe Minnesota should follow suit. The House also passed legislation that would require abortion facilities performing ten or more abortions each month to be licensed and regulated by the Department of Health, as well as meet a set of standards established by evidence-based clinical research. If these bills go on to pass the Senate, I hope they are then signed into law.
Fun Fact of the Week:
During the 2015-2016 legislative session 4,032 bills were introduced in the House and 3,641 bills were introduced in the Senate, for a grand total of 7,673 bills introduced in both legislative bodies, setting a new state record. We are on pace to break that record again this year.
So why care?
Of those 7,673 introduced bills, only 184 new laws were formed.
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Sincerely,
