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Criminal Justice
Judiciary: Support of a judicial system
with the capacity to assure a speedy trial and equal justice for all.
Corrections: Support of a correctional
system responsive to the needs of the individual offender and of society.
Support of sentencing decisions based on circumstances in relation to the crime,
the offender and the effect on public safety, made by the judge within legislative
guidelines.
Selection of Judges: Support present system
of selection and retention of appellate and district judges with certain modifications.
Oppose allowing candidates to accept and use endorsement by political parties.
Death Penalty: Support of abolition of
the death penalty; Opposition to its reinstatement in Minnesota.
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Education
Equal Opportunity: Support of increased
state responsibility in creating equal public educational opportunities for
all Minnesota children through measures to correct racial imbalance and ensure
adequate financing of public schools.
Financing of Education: Support of equal
access to a good public education for all Minnesota children. State funding
for education should be at a level that makes programs of comparable substance
and quality available to all. A student's access to a good education should
not depend on the wealth of his or her school district.
Collective Bargaining and Tenure: Support
of improvements in the collective bargaining and tenure laws of the state as
they apply to K-12 teachers only.
Library Funding: Support for increased
and restructured funding for public libraries.
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Government
Citizen Rights: Support of improvements
in election laws regulating election procedures, voting and school district
elections. Support of improvements in election laws regulating campaign practices.
Election Laws: Support of improvements
in election laws regulating election procedures, voting and school district
elections.
Alternative Voting Systems: Support of
the option to use Instant Runoff Voting to elect State or Local Officials in
single seat elections. LWVMN also supports the continued use of the plurality
voting system in our elections. The LWVMN Board reserves the right to
decide the appropriateness of legislation proposing to replace the plurality
voting system with the Instant Runoff System at the state level. LWVMN
strongly supports the right of local governments and municipalities to choose
Instant Runoff Voting for their own elections. Voters need to understand
how votes in an election are tabulated and how a candidate actually wins an
election. If a change in elections occurs, LWVMN strongly supports adequate
voter education. LWVMN does not support Approval, Borda Count, or Condorcet
as alternative voting systems.
Organization of Government: Support of
improved structure and procedures for the Minnesota Legislature and Executive
Branch; support of an improved process for amending the Minnesota Constitution;
support of timely redistricting based substantially on population of congressional
districts and of all elected state and local governmental bodies; opposition
to a unicameral state legislature.
Initiative, Referendum and Recall: Support
of the continuation of legislative initiative and compulsory voter referendum
on constitutional amendments; and support of voter approval by a majority of
those voting on the question.
Oppose most forms of voter initiative and referendum and recall of members
of the legislature and state constitutional officers.
Oppose term limits for members of the legislature and state constitutional
officers.
Financing State Government: Support of
a balanced and diversified revenue system which relies on broad-based taxes
and user fees. Support of an evaluation of each individual revenue source
to determine if it is competitive with other states, efficient, equitable, progressive,
reliable, responsive and simple. Support of a broad-based sales tax with
exemptions for essential items. Support of an equitable property tax as
the primary source of financing services provided by local governments and as
a partial funding for education. Support of a corporation franchise tax
competitive with other states. Support of achieving social goals through open
and visible expenditures rather than by granting deductions, exclusions and
credits. Support of the principle that state legislation mandating local
government action should identify sources of revenue. Support of long-term
financial management, budget projections and budget reserve.
State Government Spending: Belief that
a long-term vision as well as immediate concerns should guide state spending
decisions. Support of the following broad goals, in order of priority:
provide high-quality K-12 educational opportunities; provide basic level of
health and human services; protect natural resources; encourage economic self-sufficiency;
provide for public safety; provide high-quality post-secondary educational opportunities;
and preserve open spaces. Support of the use of specific criteria when faced
with the need to limit spending, i.e. curtailing subsidies for sports teams
and convention centers, maintenance of existing infrastructure over increased
infrastructure, tax relief targeted to low-income households and providing services
first to the most needy.
Firearms: Action to support restrictions
on the sale, possession and use of firearms by private parties in the state
of Minnesota. Opposition to an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution
granting to an individual the right to bear arms. Support for the ability
of local municipalities to regulate ownership and possession of firearms and
ammunition more strictly than state law allows.
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Natural Resources
Water Resources: Support of a state role
in the preservation and management of Minnesota's water resources through protection,
allocation, conservation, pricing and interbasin transfer policies protective
of Minnesota's current and future needs.
Solid Waste: Support of measures to reduce
generation of solid waste and ensure safe treatment, storage and disposal of
all wastes.
Air Quality: Support measures to reduce
air pollution from vehicular and stationary sources.
Land Use: Support of an overall land use
plan with maximum cooperation and implementation at the regional and local levels,
with state help in developing and exercising land use management, with opportunity
for maximum local decision making, and with regional planning and regulation
for matters of more than local concern.
Agriculture: Support of a system of sustainable
agricultural production which provides safe, healthful food and which preserves
and protects the state's human and natural agricultural resources and enhances
the environment. Support of a state policy which promotes research and
technical assistance in farming practices and rural economies that improve the
economic viability of family farms, environmental health and the quality of
life of family farmers and their communities.
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Social Policy
Equal Opportunity: Support of policies
to ensure equality of opportunity in employment, real property, public accommodations,
education and other public services for all persons. Support of administrative
enforcement of antidiscrimination laws. Support of state responsibility
for and responsiveness to Indian citizens.
Family Issues
- Family Violence: Support for improved
procedures for agencies dealing with family violence; support for improved
services for the victims.
- Child Support: Support of stricter
enforcement of court-ordered child support payments.
- Child Protection: Support of adequate
staffing and resources for child protection services.
- Child Health: Support access to comprehensive
pre-natal and child health care.
- Child Care: Support of coordinated
public policies and funding to ensure safe, affordable, quality child care
throughout the state.
- Teen Pregnancy: Support prevention
efforts to lower the rate of teenage pregnancy.
Housing: The League believes that all
people have a right to housing. The public and private sectors should work together
to ensure that everyone has access to adequate, decent, affordable housing.
Support an active state role in providing long-term decent and affordable housing
for very low-, low-, and moderate-income households. Support of incentives to
local units of government to promote a mix of housing opportunities. Support
of disincentives to local units of government that do not promote a mix of housing
opportunities. Support of revision of the tax system to narrow the tax
disparity between rental and owner-occupied residential property; reduction
of the tax rate on rental property available to very low-, low-, and moderate-income
households; encouragement of maintenance of rental property available to very
low-, low-, and moderate-income households.
Mental Health: Support of a comprehensive
and coordinated system of programs and services for mentally ill adults and
emotionally disturbed children and adolescents (hereafter referred to as "persons
with mental illness"). Priority should be given to persons with serious
and persistent mental illness and/or acute mental illness. Minnesota public
policy and funding should sustain an array of community-based services that
are available and accessible to persons with mental illness. Administration
of that policy should provide clients with appropriate and adequate services.
Violence Prevention: Support for violence
prevention programs in Minnesota.
Alcohol and Tobacco Use: Support statutes,
ordinances, enforcement efforts and public funding designed to promote chemical
health and reduce illegal use of alcohol and tobacco.
Support educational programs to improve chemical health and prevent illegal
use of tobacco and alcohol starting in elementary school and continuing in middle
and high school.
Immigration: Support incorporating immigrants
into our communities by providing access to education, by endorsing the development
of secure identification documents, and by respecting the right of law enforcement
personnel to perform their duties without the burden of interpreting federal
immigration policies. Oppose residents with legal immigrant status running
for local office.
LWVMN believes that:
- State funding of Adult Basic Education for each program site should
be adequate to meet the needs of the eligible residents.
- All Minnesota residents, regardless of their immigration status, should
be eligible for in-state tuition at state colleges and universities under
the same conditions, such as one year's state residency or graduation from
a Minnesota high school.
- The Department of Public Safety should recognize the matricula consular
as an acceptable document to prove identity for obtaining a driver's
license.
- Law enforcement employees of state, county, or local government agencies,
such as the Department of Public Safety and state and local police, should
not be deputized by the INS to enforce immigration laws.
- Residents with legal immigrant status should not be allowed to run for
local offices.
