Senator Scott Dibble

In the debate on the Senate floor Thursday, Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) moved to bring legislation to the floor prohibiting the barbaric practice of conversion therapy in Minnesota. The motion bringing his legislation, SF 1871, to the floor received enough support to pass under normal circumstances, but Senate Republicans chose to hide behind procedural games instead of advancing the measure. While it received a 34-31 majority vote, it fell seven votes short of the 41 needed to advance the discussion. 

In response to the growing number of legislative assaults on the right of those who seek gender-affirming health care, Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) and Representative Liz Reyer (DFL-Eagan) have introduced legislation (SF 4525, HF 4822) prohibiting any attempts of outside jurisdictions or entities from reaching into our state with their laws to take action on people who come to Minnesota to receive this critical care. Their legislation mirrors legislation being introduced across the country in a multistate effort to create states of refuge for those seeking this care.

On Tuesday evening, the Senate Transportation and Finance Committee advanced their omnibus budget bill on a party-line vote. The legislation, S.F. 1154, falls woefully short of addressing the needs of Minnesota’s transportation network by restricting the ability of Minnesota to access federal funds for infrastructure upgrades, blocks investments necessary to prepare for electric vehicles, exacerbates inequality, and ignores efforts to mitigate climate change.