WMMN-AF Blog
Real stories. Bold action. Powering all women & their communities to dismantle oppression.
Update on WMM 2019 Legislative Priorities
WMM entered into the 2019 legislative session with nine priorities. Sadly, with the split legislature, only one of those bills - Taskforce on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women - was passed. 2020 is coming! We need to vote out the lawmakers who obstruct legislation that is good for Minnesotans.
Here is how our priorities fared:
ERA NOW
Great news on the Equal Rights Amendment. HF71 will go to the MN House floor for a vote this Friday . HF71 would memorialize Congress to remove the deadline of 1982 to get 38 states to agree to ratify the ERA. Thirty-five states did sign on by that original date. The removal of the deadline will allow the ratifications of the final three states needed to secure the ERA into the U.S. Constitution.
Minnesota Legislative Session is Nearing an End
In less than two weeks the 2019 legislative session will end. The Conference Committees are underway, but the Senate, House and Governor cannot agree on high level budget targets. It’s getting stressful.
Big roadblocks
Sunset of the provider tax | This will put a $700M hole in the Health and Human Services budget. Governor Walz wants to keep this tax, the GOP want to let it expire without a plan to replace it.
Education | The GOP budget doesn't keep up with inflation and barely funds schools. Despite bipartisan support of education across the state, their budget gives schools no new dollars.
Mama's Day Bail out
Some mothers will be celebrating Mother's Day without their families this year. The cash bail system unjustly separated them. These women are in custody because they can't afford to pay the bond that would release them to carry on with their life, family, and work while their case advances.
Minnesota Freedom Fund is working to change that with the Momma's Day Bail Out.
Indigenous Women and Girls Deserve Justice
The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Taskforce bill (HF70), will be voted on as a standalone bill in the House today (May 9).
Attend this hearing and floor vote to show your support. For real-time updates, visit the FB event page. Afterwards, go to the Senate and urge them to do the same: send the bill (SF515) to the Senate floor and vote yes.
Update on Conversion Therapy Ban
There are some Senators who support the ban but are unwilling to break with their party, so continue to call or write them and remind them that this proposed ban is overwhelmingly supported by the voters, the medical field, and that the founder of conversion therapy, Dr. Robert Spitzer, apologized to the LGBTQ community for all the harm he caused.
Banning what many consider to be the torture of kids shouldn’t be controversial in 2019, but this battle is yet to be won here in Minnesota.
Restore the Vote to Minnesotans!
Contact the State Government Appropriations conference committee members - House: Representatives Nelson, M.; Freiberg; Ecklund; Dehn; Kiel. Senate: Senators Kiffmeyer; Anderson, B.; Koran; Mathews; Carlson - and tell them why RTV needs to stay in the omnibus. Contact them even if you are not their constituent.
Emergency Teach-In Tomorrow for Restore the Vote!
Things are heating up at the State Capitol. Take Action Minnesota is holding an Emergency Teach-In TOMORROW, May 9, to draw attention to the inaction of the GOP-controlled Senate on important bills that work to improve the lives of all Minnesotans, like Restore the Vote, Paid Family Leave, 100% Clean Energy and more.
What Do We Want? Equal Rights! When Do We Want It? Now!
"Equality under the law shall not be abridged or denied on account of gender," is all we're asking to be added to the MN constitution. Visit ERAMN for more information on the bills.
Take action to get the Senate to hear the bill, pass it, and add it to the ballot! Let the people of Minnesota decide! Can you take a few minutes out of your day to make Equal Rights a reality for future generations?
Restore the Vote Needs your Help!
The House version of this bill is now in the House Public Safety Omnibus bill (HF1603), but the Senate version (SF856) still awaits a hearing. Can you help by phonebanking with Take Action on this important subject? You'll be calling constituents in critical districts, and connecting supporters to their legislator's voicemail to leave a message urging them to vote for the bill.
Show up for LGBTQ justice and equity!
The top legislative priority for OutFront this year is a bill (HF12/SF83) to ban the practice of conversion therapy on LGBTQ Youth and to require a warning for anyone over 18 about the harm it is known to cause!
Are you Comfortable at the Capitol?
And if you are unsure where things are at the Capitol - the House and Senate chambers, how to attend a committee hearing, where to find your legislator, - we have two more Women’s March MN-led tours of the State Capitol, Senate and State Office buildings. We would love to show you around!
Outcry Scream Sessions: A creative project to empower women to use their voices
These photography sessions were not your high fashion, super model type. It was made to show the authentic, raw side of a woman that is hidden behind a veil; that women can only scream and yell when no one’s there. In society, in many women’s upbringing, we have been conditioned to be passive, silent, and to feel powerless. But we are not. These outcry sessions encourage women to let out their inner roar, that burning fire that’s been eating them up inside.
Violence against Indigenous women bill needs your support
Please contact Senator Limmer, Chair of the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee, and urge him to let SF515 go through as a stand-alone bill. After all, it addresses a long standing historical injustice that needs to be acknowledged and stopped. It is not a bargaining chip for future negotiations.
Help Restore the Vote to more than 52,000 Minnesotans
The House version of this bill passed through many committees and is now part of the House Election and Campaign Finance Omnibus Bill (HF1603). However, the Senate version (SF856), introduced by Senator Bobby Champion, has not been granted a hearing. In fact, the Chair of the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee, Senator Warren Limmer, says he will not give this bill a hearing.
Freedom to Drive
Join Women’s March MN and the Freedom to Drive MN Coalition at the Minnesota State Capitol on Friday, April 5. The MN House of Representatives will have a floor vote on HF1500, a bill that returns the privilege of a driver’s license to all eligible Minnesotans regardless of immigration status.
Energy and Climate Omnibus bill is looking good!
Although environmental bills did not appear in our initial list of Legislative Priorities for 2019, climate action and justice has to be a priority for all of us, and we were waiting to see what bills would be introduced to address climate change.
We are very excited about the Energy and Climate Omnibus bill (HF 1833) that has really come together in the last few weeks!
Bill to establish taskforce on missing and murdered Indigenous women gets first hearing in the Senate!!
Great news! The bill to address the silent epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women, children and men (SF515) will be heard by the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee this Tuesday (4/2), 1:00 p.m., 1100 Senate Bldg, 95 University Ave W, St Paul, MN 55155.
April: MNLeg Homestretch - What's Alive at the Lege and What to Do
Thursday, April 18, 2019, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Location TBD
Hear from Representatives and Senators on what issues are still alive before recess in May. More importantly, learn how you can still influence the outcome.
This event is free and open to all, but please RSVP on the FB event page, so we can let the venue know how many to expect.
Keep going with pressuring the Senate about hearing gun safety bills - it’s working!
Good news! Senate Majority Leader Gazelka says he will allow the Senate to hear gun safety bills, IF they pass in the House. (The House versions, HF8 + HF9, have already passed a number of committees). Read more about it.
Thank you! Your calls and emails have helped make this happen. Please keep them coming!