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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Cal Bahr (R)

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Legislative Update

Monday, May 15, 2017

Hello from the Capitol,

This week, I signed on to a letter to the Commissioner of the Department of Education: Brenda Cassellius expressing my opposition to the Department’s planned distribution of their “Toolkit” resource for dealing with gender identity issues in schools. I believe that the Department’s resources would best serve Minnesota’s children in other areas; discussions regarding gender identity should be left to the parents.

If you believe state resources should be focused on ensuring all of our kids, regardless of background, receive the best education possible, contact the commissioner at mde.commissioner@state.mn.us and share your concerns.

Female Genital Mutilation (HF 2621):

Last week, a bill (House File 2621) that would hold Minnesota parents/guardians liable for the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) has finished traveling through the committee process and will be taken up for a vote on the House floor today. If this bill is signed into law, it would establish a criminal penalty of a felony, punishable up to 5 years in prison, for a parent or guardian who knowingly consents to female genital mutilation of a child; it would also require that FGM be classified as a mandatory reporting act of child abuse. This bill is just plain common sense and it needs to be signed into law as soon as legislatively possible.

Budget Negotiations:

Over the past couple weeks, conference committees have been working to find compromise on the discrepancies between each House and Senate budget proposal, as well as include provisions supported by the Governor. However, the Governor has taken his ball and gone home. He was unwilling to negotiate over the weekend and has already begun to veto parts of the Legislature’s budget proposal. I hope he comes back to the Capitol today ready to get our work done.

 

I want to thank you again for allowing me to serve you in St. Paul. If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Cal