Capitol Letter for March 3, 2023

The Capitol Letter™ is a recurring publication that provides reports from LWV Minnesota volunteer Observer Corps and Lobby Corps members on what is happening in the current legislative session.

Gov Walz surrounded by Restore the Vote Supporters

photo by Emily Baxter

Lobbying by LWVMN

We were so humbled and proud to be part of the Governor's Signing Ceremony for the Restore the Vote Bill today! The League of Women Voters of Minnesota has worked with fellow activists for 2 decades on this important bill, that literally restores voting rights to 55,000 Minnesotans.

Observer Reports

Senate Transportation Committee - Monday, February 27

LWVMN Observer Corps Member Shannon Moore

  • SF718 (Hawj) - Highways for Habitat Program. Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Audubon, and American Bird Conservancy support the bill because: the planting of carefully selected trees, shrubs and plants create natural snow fences; the plantings are pollinator friendly for insects, bees and bugs that pollinate trees, flowers and crops; the plantings reduce road maintenance/ less chemicals are used and roadways are safer. Also, this program will provide more and better habitat for birds who will use the roadways to migrate and bird numbers and species have been declining. MNDOT supports the bill. Short term funding appropriated in the bill can be used to plan and plant the vegetation, but long-term funding will be needed for maintenance and upkeep. Senator Howe - Reported he has a lot of farmers that bail roadside vegetations for their livestock. Will this bill prevent them from doing this in the future? Answer from MNDOT - No, there is already a program in place for farmers to apply for a permit to bail roadside vegetation, and this bill will not prevent them from getting a permit. Co-author Senator Jasinski said he lives in rural Minnesota and snow fences make a big difference in driver safety. Bill was laid over for possible inclusion in a future bill.

  • SF1448 (Latz) - retrieval of towed vehicle contents. In 2008 there was a law to allow low-income individuals to get items from their cars at tow lots. This bill will add additional language for the owner of the car to legally obtain their items if the towing company does not allow it. This is especially important to those people who are living out of their car. Attorney Hannah Anderson - She supports the bill, because she represented a client pro bono and accompanied them to the towing lot where the person could not retrieve items without additional identification. Directed to Judiciary. Vote taken, All Yes.



Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Committee  - Monday, February 27

LWVMN Observer Corps Member Pamela A. Mercier

  • This was the next stop for SF3, also known as the Democracy for the People Act that includes provisions relating to election administration and campaign finance, and it was passed to the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. The part of the Bill heard in this Committee, according to Chair Erin Murphy and bill author Sen. Boldon, was Article 1, including pre-registration of 16- and 17-year olds, automatic voter registration (AVR), and establishing permanent absentee voter lists and the section of Article 2 addressing the needs of eligible voters speaking languages other than English as their first language. Senator Boldon described the bill as needed both to increase voter access and participation in Minnesota and to modernize election administration. Supportive testimony by Secretary of State Steve Simon who argued for adding materials in languages other than English to those already available at polling places, citing Minnesota's long history of providing such documents dating back to the days when election information was available, for example, in Norwegian. He also spoke favorably of the provisions to create a permanent mail-in voter list and an automatic voter registration process. Both of these, according to Simon, would significantly expand voter access and participation. Additionally, he argued that implementation of these two provisions would reduce the need for same day voter registration- an honored but also time consuming process on election day. Simon described AVR as a cost saving and election security measure, and, in terms of its impact on voter participation, could add as many as 450,000 registered voters to the system. Furthermore, Simon assured the Committee that the term, "automatic voter registration" is a misnomer which he wishes were different. The system is not automatic; those eligible go through the same rigorous verification process as do all others attempting to register on or before election day and that this is nonpartisan in origin and effect. Discussion and questions following from Senator Drazkowski, for example, who wondered how we can be sure that only eligible voters are attempting to register through this new system. Sen. Boldon, and staff of the Secretary’s Office, assured the Committee that eligibility requirements would not change through this bill becoming law. Two other Senators questioned the State's ability to provide enough live translators at election sites given the requirement in the bill. Sen. Boldon responded that only precincts with a certain percentage of speakers of particular non-English languages would be required to provide translators.



House Capital Investment Committee- Monday, February 27

LWVMN Observer Corps Member Melanie Willett

  • HF24 - This bill proposes providing grants to replace both public and private drinking water service lines containing lead, including replacement, construction, and communication and focuses upon disadvantaged communities. The workforce plan utilizes underrepresented laborers from disadvantaged communities. There were three testifiers in favor of HF24: the mayor of International Falls expressed that the use of lead pipes is pervasive in many communities in homes built before 1986; John Torson from LIUNA mentioned that lead had been used as it was cheaper and bent better than iron pipes; Stephen Witherspoon’s testimony touched upon how lead poisoning impacts urban youth with similar symptoms to ADHD. Additional questions and discussion from legislators: The first question was about the differences between the new bill and the one drafted last year (no major changes). Most likely the bill will be traveling alone. Federal funding includes $43M every year for five years. Jeff Freeman from Public Facilities Authority (PFA) answered many of the financial questions, and PFA is working on language to fully utilize federal funding with state funding in the bill. An affordability criteria on the impact of individual households will be utilized. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not give grant money without taking a federal portion, and loan money will be used for municipalities. HF24 says that state money supplements this so that work gets done across the state with no cost to property owners or municipalities. The Health Department is modifying criteria utilizing priority system rules via a computerized tool with financial metrics. The bill was laid over as amended.



House Education Policy Committee - Tuesday, February 28

LWVMN Observer Corps Member Cathy Thom

  • HF358 (Urdahl) Video - 1:18:10 - Social studies requirement for civics in either 10th, 11th, or 12th grade offered by school districts. This is Rep. Urdahl’s (R - Grove City) seventh year of carrying the bill. He stated that students do not know the constitution or their US Senators but can name American Idol judges and presented startling facts indicating that government and citizenship is no longer prioritized across the country and within Minnesota schools. Teaching civics should be done on the cusp of registering to vote rather than in 9th grade and in pieces via social studies courses. A higher level government/civics course can be substituted with an AP Government or similar course.Testifiers: Lisa Larson - League of Women Voters MN & former House Education Finance Committee Counsel - we support the bill because: 1) Civics education is critical to strengthening democracy and participation across the political spectrum. Noted the bipartisan support (35 authors from both parties). 2) Current education seems to lean towards STEM and skilled worker training and civics education is becoming neglected. 3) Civics education is often received only within history courses, but civics and history are not the same. Civics is related to history, but it is highly applicable to today for all American citizens. The current inconsistency of when, how, and in what context and at what time it is taught is not doing justice to the crucial nature of civics education for enabling informed and engaged citizens within a democracy.; Former Rep. Tom Berg - Participated in the MN Miracle of the early 1970s, which included the implementation of large-scale local government aid, particularly cities and schools. He emphasized that the closer civics education is to when you are about to become a registered voter the better, which this bill accomplishes on a consistent basis in schools across the state.; Mary Hartnett - Executive Director of Clean Elections MN - Testified in support of the bill. Cited the widespread polling that shows most Minnesotans support requiring consistent and comprehensive civics education in high school. Noted its increased importance in an age of disinformation and conspiracy theories. The bill was laid over. Read more about civics education efforts nationally.



House Agriculture and Finance Policy - Tuesday, February 28

LWVMN Observer Corps Member Rita Mills

  • HF1492 (Klevorn) & HF1645 (Brand) were presented in tandem with the primary goal to keep soil covered year-round with “cash crops.” HF1492 would fund the University of Minnesota’s “Forever Green Initiative,” a research-based program focused on the development of cover crops and winter and annual/perennial crops, with the development of new crops in the forefront. Rep. Klevorn broke the funding requests down into two areas: for ongoing research (2 million for 2024 and 2 million for 2025) and one-time (10 million) for needed equipment to sustain this important research, for the University of MN. Three testifiers supporting these requests (with graphics) showed the need to protect soil in agriculture communities, and UMN testified on the importance of cover crops to sustain the MN’s quality soil. Details for both HF1492 and HF1645 (intertwined) described the four primary cover crops: Kernza, Hazel Nuts, Winter Camelina, Elderberry. While HF1492 is focused on U of M research, HF1645 is focused on funding for private businesses to market these new cash crops. Additional testifiers included a farmer advocating for growing cash crops and a graduate student explaining the intricacies of equipment used in research such as an underground microscope used to study root systems of these new cash crops.



House Human Services Finance - Tuesday, February 28

LWVMN Observer Corps Member Pamela A Mercier

  • This was the next step for HF3, and it was passed to the Judiciary Committee on Thursday where it passed to the State Government and Finance Committee. Rep. Greenman spoke to the part of this bill- also known as the Democracy for the People Act- in the purview of Human Services, or automatic voter registration. This committee is concerned with programs such as Minnesota Care and Medicaid, and AVR processes eligible voter's applications from information gathered in an interaction with a state agency. There is a 20 day opportunity to decline the registration. Rep Greenman spoke passionately about her belief that this AVR process would further reduce barriers to voting and would make the voting system more efficient. 22 states already have AVR systems. Non-registered eligible voters tend to be younger, lower income, less educated, and people of color than registered voters, she claimed. And these folks, she continued, tend to be heavily represented in applicants for MNCare and Medicaid. Two people testified in support of the bill. Both spoke to the connection between better health outcomes and voter participation suggested by some research. Several more letters of support were submitted to the committee. There was a lively discussion among committee members after Greenman's presentation. A number of Republican representatives expressed objections to the provision. Rep. Brindley, for instance, cited the opt out provision which she said had too short a window for allowing applicants to decline registration. She also noted that applicants can already check a box to register to vote, thus making AVR unnecessary and perhaps a violation of folks' right to privacy by submitting their information to SOS. Rep. Greenman responded to criticism of the bill by restating her belief that it will make voting more inclusive. And she informed committee members that Minnesota ranks 15th in the nation in the time and effort it takes to register to vote. This bill, she suggested, is a great step in reducing administrative barriers to voting.



House Elections Finance & Policy Committee - Tuesday, February 28

LWVMN Observer Corps Member Audrey Kramer

  • HF635 (Greenman) - prohibits intimidation of election judges or administrators and any interference of their ability to perform their responsibilities and prohibits tampering with election systems and equipment; the bill provides penalties and appropriates funds. Rep. Greenman indicated that since the January 6th, 2020 insurrection, fear of intimidation of election workers has increased (1 in 6 have been threatened). Secretary of State Steve Simon spoke in support of the bill and gave examples of unacceptable incidents here in MN such as an election worker being followed to her car and threatened and an election worker accosted by a voter, requiring the local sheriff to intercede. Laurie Halvorson, Dakota County Commissioner and former state Legislator, spoke of the increasing problem of election staff turnover (1 in 5 want to leave). She also had folks asking her for the addresses of volunteer workers. Three more testifiers spoke to the necessity of the bill to improve the security of MN elections, and LWV Minnetonka Eden Prairie Hopkins President Sharon Borine submitted written testimony on behalf of LWVMN from her experience as an election judge. HF635 passed with only yes votes to the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee. Read more about the Secretary of State's comments

  • HF495 (Pursell) - All post-secondary institutions that enroll students who have accepted state financial aid must prepare a certified list of students residing in institution housing or within 10 miles of campus for the purpose of providing election officials accurate addresses for verification purposes during elections.  Sean Lim of the Minnesota Youth Collective spoke in support of this bill saying that many students don't have knowledge of the requirements to prove who they are and where they live, and they would need to use campus photo ID, be age 18 by Election Day, and in residence for at least 20 days where they plan to vote. Secretary Simon spoke of the importance of this bill to provide one uniform system for address verifications and eliminate current confusion among student residences. A Rep. Quam Amendment failed to pass who, along with Rep. Torkelson, raised concerns about students voting twice. HF495 passed to the Higher Education Finance & Policy Committee.

  • HF811 (Brand) - Regarding election campaigns, this bill requires multiple housing facilities such as apartments, dormitories, nursing homes, etc., to permit candidates or volunteers access to go door-to-door in the building 60 days prior to the election. Michael Stalberger, the Blue Earth County election official representing the MN Association of County Officers, spoke in support of the bill.  HF811 was laid over to possibly be included in the Omnibus Bill.



House Sustainable Infrastructure Committee - Wednesday, March 1

LWVMN Observer Corps Member Cindy Holker

  • HF1346 (Kraft) - unlocks federal funds for states to build out electric vehicle infrastructure under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.  The proposal is to start building charging stations every 50 miles within 1 mile of interstates 94 and 35 using universal chargers with an adapter needed for Teslas. Testimony came from the Association of Builders and Contractors (representing 73% of non-union contractors) objecting to the added amendment requiring those working on the infrastructure to have received training from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). The IBEW is the only organization providing the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) included in the bill. The Association pointed out that Federal rules include an "or" that allows installers to come from an apprentice program. This was not included in the MN bill and several of the outstate Representatives have no electricians who are union and have access to EVITP.  Kraft noted that this provision was not intentionally left out of HF1346 but he did not commit to adding it. Several other unanswered questions from Republicans on the Committee included whether or not the infrastructure program would pay for the upgrade to the electrical systems in areas where chargers will be installed (a significant cost) and whether land where the chargers would be placed would be tax exempt and result in the loss of tax revenue for cities and counties. Per Chair Koegel, the original hearing was scheduled for last week and included a presentation from Xcel Energy and a much longer discussion on the bill, and she committed to having a deeper dive at a future date. The bill passed and was referred to the Transportation Finance and Policy Committee via a voice vote with some no's heard.

  • HF2036 - a bill to simplify energy use provisions for major renovations and new construction for State projects. The discussion focused on defining "cost effective", types of renewable systems to be used, etc. The bill passed and was re-referred to the State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committee by voice vote with some no's. 

  • HF2170 - Establishment of Global Warming Impact Standards for Construction Materials Used in State Buildings and Roads. This bill seemed fairly bipartisan in support with testimony from the Steel Union, a Cement Company and other contractors who believe in sourcing material from companies focused on reducing their carbon footprint and made in the USA. Passed via voice vote with some no's and was referred to State and Local Government. 

  • HF749 - Energy Guidelines Required for State Buildings to Incorporate Provisions that Address Resiliency to Climate Change. Intention is to better prepare Minnesota for extreme weather through anticipation and how to address it.  Rep. Franson objected to this committee hearing the bill, saying that they are not the Climate Change Committee and downplaying its effects. This bill passed by voice vote with some no's and was referred to State and Local Government.



House Elections Finance & Policy - Wednesday, March 1

LWVMN Observer Corps Members Amy Caucutt and Cathy Thom

Cathy: HF789 (Becker-Finn) - classify candidate’s address as private data with reasonable fear. Rep. Becker-Finn (DFL - Roseville) cited the increasing prevalence of threats and threatening behavior towards candidates and their families, including death threats. She said that this will help protect members and make sure that all citizens can feel empowered to serve in the legislature. Member Discussion: Rep. Bahner (DFL - Maple Grove) - As a member in a purple district, she has been subject to very graphic threats, including armed groups who had her on "a list" of legislators, and thanked Rep. Becker Finn for this necessary bill but sad situation. She said that this bill protects entire neighborhoods. Rep. Quam (R - Byron) said that the bill seems "one-sided" when it refers to specific groups, and he had similar experiences but engaged them. He supports the bill because of its prudence, and Rep. Becker-Finn clarified that the bill was drafted with nonpartisan language and thinks that anyone should be able to run for office without concerns for the safety of themselves, their families, or their neighbors. A GOP Rep. asked about the process - Rep. Becker-Finn explained that there is an affidavit form that gets filled out and processed by the Secretary of State's office within 24 hours to withhold home addresses for candidate information at the time of filing.

Amy: HF1723 (Freiberg) called the Governor's bill, has 3 sections, explained Sec. of State Steve Simon: allowing Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds to pass directly to the Sec of State without MN legislature appropriating; $477K to pay court ordered attorneys' fees in redistricting litigation; $461K for 20% state match to $2M current HAVA appropriation. Simon said MN is an outlier state on requiring legislative okay for HAVA funds. The House has always approved bipartisanly, but not the Senate.  Since 2016 this money has been for cyber security. MN was unable to spend this appropriation before the 2018 election due to current state law and Senate hold up. Simon explained that in 2016, 21 states' voter registration systems were attempted to be hacked by a foreign adversary unsuccessfully. This wake-up call got HAVA $$ to work on this. MN Sec of State's office has 2 "security navigators'' who help local jurisdictions. Rep. Altendorf withdrew her amendment before discussing it, and bill was passed unanimously on a voice vote. Rereferred to State and Local government. LWVMN Board Member Paul Huffman submitted supportive written testimony to the Committee.



House State and Local Government Finance & Policy - Thursday, March 2

LWVMN Observer Corps Members Rebecca Monson and Cathy Thom

  • Rebecca: HF197 (Bahner) - A resolution memorializing Congress to resolve that the requirements have been met to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and that it shall now be known as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. The discussion among the members and testifiers that ensued was about what rights the 28th amendment to the US constitution would bestow and NOT any disagreement about whether or not the requirements have been met. Those opposed to the bill focused mainly on the inclusion of non-binary children in sports which strayed from the topic. The bill passed on a voice vote to the general register.

    • Cathy: Testimony - Betty Folliard (ERA MN - Founder) - Pointed out the ERA is now fully ratified under the terms of the US Constitution. The ERA will remove ambiguity in the law to provide consistency in our court system against sex discrimination and eliminate the patchwork of laws that currently exist in various states. It will prevent roll backs of women's rights in states, and bring the USA in line with other countries who already have a similar provision (85% of UN countries). Pointed out that women make on average only 82 cents on the dollar that men do, with women of color making even less. Female poverty rates are high for senior citizens. Women still get fired for being pregnant, employers deny birth control coverage to women, and our laws chronically neglect women's issues like childcare, women's health care, domestic violence, workplace discrimination and harassment, and equal pay for equal work. Suzanne Willhite (ERAMN - President) - Needed because the US Constitution still does not explicitly guarantee equal rights for over 51% of the US population: women. The Amendment was first ratified by Congress in 1973, and it is 100 years after its first proposal and we still have not added it to the Constitution. Member Discussion: Rep. Harder (R - Henderson) - Stated that a lot has changed to increase women's equality under the law since 1973, and questioned its necessity. Rep. Bahner replied that we still have to fight hard for things like rape kit testing, domestic violence and sexual assault investigations. There are many areas where justice is not served for women and women often won't come forward because they feel it is futile, because crimes and discrimination against women is not taken equally seriously under the law, and by law enforcement, the courts, and the public. Rep. Harder questioned what "gender expansive people" actually means in regard to the language within the resolution. It refers to LGBTQIIA+ people - the MN Amendment [which is not this bill, that is HF173 below], replied Betty Folliard. Rep. Harder said that she has a problem with including people who were not born women, but who instead "are choosing" to be women. Claimed that it has the potential to exclude women like her and give "extra rights" to those born as men who are choosing to be women. Rep. Bahner clarified that the resolution uses the language of how the courts have interpreted sex/gender equality to date, but that the national amendment has not changed its language and still uses just the word "sex" within it. Rep. Koznick (R - Lakeville) - had similar concerns.

  • Cathy: HF173 (Her - DFL, St Paul) Equality under law provided, and state constitutional amendment proposed. The definition is very expansive of who should be equal, including those with disabilities & LGBTQIIA+ people. Rep. Her emphasized that giving rights to additional people does not take away rights from others. The number of transgender girls and women playing girls'/women's sports is very small and does not affect the outcome of youth sports. Pointed out that the best states to be women and those included in this bill, particularly women in business, are states that have already codified the ERA. This is not a subjective issue. Testimony - Ann Treacy (Women's March MN) - Told the story of the discrimination her mother faced as a female systems analyst. She had wanted to play sports, be a police officer, but could not because she was a girl. She was discouraged from going to college because marriage and children was her destiny, but she went anyway. She wanted to be a judge, but never thought women could do that. Ms. Treacy said that although she had more opportunities than her mother, she discovered that she was being paid five figures less than male colleagues for the same work, and getting redress was harder than it should have been. Male colleagues can still be sexist and demeaning, and it needs to be better for our daughters. Ms. Treacy’s daughter, Aine O'Donnell - Robotics teacher who pointed out that discrimination and patronization in robotics and STEM classes are common such as dress codes. She also said that her trans friends have it even worse in regard to sports, bathroom access, etc, and stated that the current law is inadequate and fosters discrimination by default. Curtis Johnson (ERAMN - State Director) - 27 states have already adopted ERA amendments. The MN amendment is based on language passed in Nevada. Equality should be for ALL Minnesotans. Race, sex, gender or sexual identity, age, disability - all means all. 100 years have passed since the ERA was first introduced to Congress - it is way past time to pass this in MN. Melissa Lopez Franzen (Former State Senator and now President of New Publica) - She added that this language was passed in NV by a vote of nearly 58%. The pay gap is not improving, and the pandemic actually made it increase once again for both women and minorities. Advancing women within our economy is good for our economy as a whole. Member Discussion: Rep. Koznick asked how the amendment defines age. The reply was that it would be defined by the courts. Rep. Nash spoke on behalf of his wife and daughters, saying that his wife says that the 14th Amendment made the ERA unnecessary. His oldest daughter feels the same way. He says that they both describe their educational and professional experience as "stomping" their male peers "into the mud." Rep. Klevorn said that not all women have the advantages that Rep. Nash's wife and daughters have had. Rep. Bahner said that she "shares the disappointment" of Rep. Nash’s wife and daughter that the 14th Amendment apparently does not guarantee equal rights for them and all women. That is exactly why the ERA is still needed. Rep. Her concluded that Rep. Nash's wife and daughter can simply vote no on the ERA when it comes on the ballot, but we still need to let all Minnesotans have that same chance to vote on it. The bill was approved to be referred to the Rules Committee on a voice vote.

  • SF37 and SF47, the Senate Companion bills, passed the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee Friday afternoon, and were referred to the Rules and Administration Committee with similar points made. LWVMN Board Member Amy Caucutt submitted supportive written testimony.



Senate Elections - Thursday, March 2

LWVMN Observer Corps Member Paul Huffman

  • SF2144 (Hoffman) - Grant appropriation to polling places presented by the author of $500K to the Office of the Secretary of State to support local governments (counties and municipalities) with improving polling place accessibility for people with disabilities. There was one proposed change by Sen. Anderson (R) to add specifics about the standard polling places were required to meet and where the funding would be directed.  Sen. Hoffman and Chair Carlson agreed and incorporated the change. The bill was laid over for inclusion in the budget with no apparent dissent.

  • SF1434 (Westlin) - Early Voting. This bill changes the current process for "direct absentee ballots” in the last week of early voting to be true "early voting".  This removes the requirement for voters to complete an application for an absentee ballot when they will put their ballot directly into the ballot reader (optical scanner), and would treat early voting like voting on Election Day. The bill mandates extended and weekend hours for early voting, and would also extend the window for inserting ballots into the scanner from 7 days to 18 days, and would increase the time available to process absentee ballots from 7 days to 18 days before Election Day. The bill also provides for identification of an early polling place a short time before the election (46 days). Deb Erickson, Crow Wing County Director of Admin Services and speaking for MACO (MN Association of County Officers), generally supported the bill though asked for less mandated hours for early voting due to lack of activity in greater MN and cost. Sen. Limmer received a message from the Maple Grove city government during the hearing expressing their concern for the added polling place requirements. Sen Koran (R) led the challenge of the bill, including why the changes were needed, especially the scope of the changes; the reduced opportunity for clawbacks, should a candidate die before the election; timeframe and feasibility of identifying polling places on short notice; the impact of the additional requirements on local election officials; and the increased potential for concerns about the integrity of elections. Sen. Westlin committed to work with committee members and election officials for an early voting schedule that would balance standardization around the state and flexibility for local government. The bill was laid over for inclusion in the election omnibus.

Minnesota House News

Week in Review: February 27 - March 3

including farm-to-school, soil health, and implementing clean energy

Related coverage

Please learn more at our 2023 Legislative Session Webpage.

Capitol LetterLWV MinnesotaSF718, SF3, SF1448, HF24, HF358, HF811, HF495, HF635, HF1346, HF2036, HF2170, HF749, HF789, HF1723, HF1492, HF1645, HF3