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LEGAL POT, ABORTION RIGHTS AND PAID LEAVE: A WHIRLWIND YEAR AT THE MINNESOTA
LEGISLATURE

 * Alex Derosier
 * January 1, 2024 at 5:29 a.m.
 * Categories: News, Politics, Uncategorized

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz proudly displays the One Minnesota Budget bill after
signing it into law, Wednesday, May 24, 2023, outside the Minnesota State
Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)

By late last spring, the rush of headlines coming out of Minnesota’s Capitol
seemed like it might never stop.

Marijuana legalization. Paid family and medical leave. New legal protections for
abortion. Universal school meals. Free college tuition. A mandate for a new
state flag.

Minnesota’s whirlwind 2023 legislative session is likely to go down as one of
the most consequential in a generation. And while some of the new laws have
already gone into effect, the impacts of many of the new policies won’t be seen
for years.



In November 2022, voters gave the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party majorities in
both the Senate and House, and another four-year term to DFL Gov. Tim Walz,
clearing the path for a sweeping agenda held back by years of divided
government.

With little leverage, Republicans who had once controlled the Senate could only
sit back and watch as members of the DFL “trifecta” swiftly pursued their
agenda.

So much new legislation was enacted it might be tough to remember everything
that happened at the Capitol this year. Here’s a look back at what went down:




ABORTION

Backed by a crowd of lawmakers and advocates, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signs the
Protect Reproductive Options Act bill in St. Paul on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. The
bill says “every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions
about the individual’s own reproductive health.” That includes the right to
abortion, contraception, fertility services and contraception. (John Autey /
Pioneer Press)

One of the first major bills of 2023 made it to the governor’s desk in the first
month of the session. The Protect Reproductive Options Act, or PRO ACT, codified
the right to abortion in state law.

Later in the year, lawmakers removed restrictions such as a 24-hour wait period
and parental disclosure requirement from statute.



JUNETEENTH

Minnesota now recognizes Juneteenth, the celebration of the end of slavery in
the United States, as a state holiday. June 19th became a federal holiday in
2021.



CLEAN ENERGY

A bill signed into law in February will require Minnesota to shift all its
electricity to carbon-free sources by 2040.

FELON VOTING RIGHTS

More than 50,000 people with felony convictions on supervised release in
Minnesota are now eligible to vote under a new state law.

Secretary of State Steve Simon, the state’s top elections official, said it was
Minnesota’s “largest single act of enfranchisement” since the voting age changed
from 21 to 18 half a century ago.



> Vote restored to MN felons on supervised release



In February the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the felon voting ban. Justices
acknowledged the disparate impact but ruled the law was still constitutional,
sending the issue back to the Legislature.



Felons could start registering to vote on June 1 and the law has so far survived
challenges from a conservative legal group.

'DRIVER'S LICENSES FOR ALL'

After a two-decade ban, more than 80,000 Minnesota residents who are in the U.S.
illegally will be able to obtain a driver’s license again. The “Driver’s
Licenses For All” bill, which removed the requirement for license applicants to
provide proof of citizenship or lawful presence in the country, went into effect
Oct. 1.

> MN to issue driver’s licenses to all regardless of immigration status



CATALYTIC CONVERTERS

Lawmakers moved to address an explosion in catalytic converter thefts from
vehicles. It’s now a crime to remove a catalytic converter from a vehicle
without labeling it with the vehicle identification number.

UNIVERSAL SCHOOL MEALS

As of the beginning of the school year, Minnesota K-12 students started getting
school meals at no charge. The program was estimated to cost about $200 million
a year, but with more students participating than originally expected, it’s
already going to cost $81 million more than planned by the end of 2025. In
2026-2027 it could cost $95 million more, according to state budget officials.



> Gov. Walz signs bill making school meals free next year



LGBT YOUTH

Minnesota now protects transgender youth access to treatments like hormone
replacements, therapy and other procedures known as gender-affirming care.
So-called conversion therapy, treatments aimed at changing a person’s sexual
orientation, is no longer permitted for minors in Minnesota.



> MN ‘trans refuge’ bill, conversion therapy ban, abortion protections become
> law



ELECTIONS BILL

A significant number of Minnesotans will now be automatically registered to vote
in future elections. And 16- and 17-year-olds will be eligible to preregister to
vote. The state now also has new penalties for spreading election
disinformation.



In addition, the “Democracy for the People Act” signed into law in May creates
new independent campaign spending requirements and restricts
“foreign-influenced” corporations from contributing to campaigns, though that
provision has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

FREE COLLEGE TUITION

Under the new higher education budget, students from families earning less than
$80,000 a year are now eligible for free public college tuition after federal
aid and grants.

PFAS BAN

Chemicals known as PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, were already
banned in food packaging but will be banned from a wider range of products in
the coming years. They’re called “forever chemicals” because they build up in
organisms and persist in the environment.



SICK TIME

On Jan. 1, nearly all Minnesota workers are entitled to 48 hours of leave each
year for health and safety reasons. Under the law, employers must allow
employees to earn at least one hour of paid safe and sick time for every 30
hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours per year. The law covers all
employees, including part-time and temporary workers.

GUN CONTROL

Universal background checks for firearm sales are now required in Minnesota. And
if a person is deemed dangerous by authorities or immediate family, a court can
issue an order to take their guns away through an “extreme risk protection
order.”

> Minnesota Democrats have deal on new gun control — red flag law, expanded
> background checks



INFRASTRUCTURE

With just days left in the session, Minnesota lawmakers approved a $2.6 billion
public infrastructure borrowing bill. The bonding will help pay for roads, water
treatment plants and public buildings.

BIGGEST EVER SURPLUS, BUDGET

Minnesota had a record $17.5 billion budget surplus in the beginning of 2023,
and by May the governor and DFL lawmakers had put together a record $72 billion
budget that raised spending by close to 38% percent over the previous biennial
budget.

“It’s going to mean a fairer, more inclusive, better and more prosperous
Minnesota,” Walz said when he signed the budget's major components into law.
“We’re leaving no one behind.”

Republicans decried the big spending boost and billions in new taxes despite the
surplus.

By the end of the year, state budget officials said the state has a $2.4 billion
surplus, but warned of shortfalls ahead if the state isn’t careful about
spending.

REBATES

In May the governor signed a tax bill authorizing $1.1 billion in one-time tax
rebates for more than 2 million Minnesotans. In the end, total payments came in
below $1 billion. In November, the Minnesota Department of Revenue reissued
nearly 150,000 one-time tax rebate checks that went uncashed or had expired.

Single filers earning up to $75,000 a year were eligible for $260 checks, joint
filers earning up to $150,000 were eligible for $520 checks, and households got
$260 for each dependent up to three. A married couple with three children could
receive up to $1,300.

TRANSPORTATION TAXES

Minnesota’s per-gallon gasoline tax is expected to go up by 5 cents by 2027,
vehicle registration fees are going up, and each delivery will now have a
50-cent fee – though with some exceptions such as for medication.

PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

Minnesota is on its way to creating a tax-funded, state-administered paid family
and medical leave program for workers. A state program in the works will offer
12 weeks of family leave and 12 weeks of medical leave with a 20-week annual
cap. All businesses would be required to participate or offer equivalent
benefits. Benefits start in 2026.

> Gov. Walz enacts paid family and medical leave plan



LEGAL MARIJUANA

Minnesota legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older this year,
making it the 23rd state to do so. The state will also expunge marijuana
convictions, and create new regulations for the substance. Possession and
small-scale growing became legal on Aug. 1, but it will take longer for
dispensaries to open.

> Gov. Walz signs bill legalizing marijuana — effective Aug. 1.



NEW STATE FLAG

Minnesota got a new state flag and seal this year. State lawmakers passed a bill
creating a commission to explore options that wrapped up its work in December.
They’ll become official on statehood day, May 11, unless the Legislature
intervenes.

> Minnesota has a new state flag design




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