Senate DFL Accomplishments | Minnesota Senate DFL

Protecting Rights, Expanding Freedoms, and Defending Democracy

We protected and expanded the fundamental rights of Minnesotans, to receive the care they need to live full lives, including guaranteeing the right to reproductive health care.

Protecting Fundamental Rights

Protecting Reproductive Options (PRO) Act (HF 1)
- Established the fundamental right of Minnesotans to make individual decisions about reproductive health care, including contraception, abortion, and pregnancy
- Prevents politicians from interfering with a person’s fundamental right to make their own reproductive health care decisions.
- In the news: Codify abortion rights with ‘PRO Act’
“Reproductive Freedom Defense Act” (HF 366)
- Provides protection for individuals who traveled to receive reproductive care in Minnesota
- Limit the release of medical records as it relates to reproductive care and treatments.
Establishing Minnesota as a “trans refuge” state (HF 146)
- Offer protections to individuals and families who come to Minnesota seeking gender-affirming healthcare
- Protects medical professionals who provide that care.
Expunging cannabis convictions (HF 100)

Expanding Freedom and justice for all

Juneteenth state holiday establishment (SF 13)
- Juneteenth memorializes the day when the Union Army, in 1865, announced that all slaves in the state of Texas (the last state with institutionalized slavery) were free.
- This bill will extend full holiday recognition to June 19.
- In the news: Minnesota Legislature approves bill prohibiting discrimination based on ethnic hairstyles
Restoring the right to vote for individuals with felony convictions who have fulfilled their debt to society (HF 28)
- Restores the voting rights for the 50,000 Minnesotans across the state who have been convicted of a felony but are not currently incarcerated.In the news: Felons deserve voting rights, Opinion: Minnesota’s vote to re-enfranchise felons is a victory for democracy, Ex felons in Minnesota say right to vote is ‘life changing’.
Driver’s Licenses for All (HF 4)
- Allows all Minnesotans to obtain a driver’s license regardless of immigration status.
- Improves public safety by ensuring that everyone on our roads has a license and insurance
- Protects undocumented Minnesotans’ data from being shared with federal immigration authorities unless served a warrant
- In the news: When undocumented immigrants can drive, their kids can live in dignity, too
Updating the “Veterans’ Restorative Justice Act” (HF 45)
- Diverts veterans out of the criminal justice system and into programs for treatment and assistance.
Conversion therapy ban (HF 16)
- Banned the barbaric practice of “conversion therapy”, protecting vulnerable people from being subjected to a disproven and traumatic treatment.
Legalizing adult-use cannabis and expunging cannabis convictions (HF 100)
- Legalized the possession and consumption adult-use cannabis for adults 21 or older.
- Established the Office of Cannabis Management to regulate and grow the Minnesota cannabis market.
- Expunges low level cannabis convictions and gives the people who were impacted by cannabis prohibition a chance to apply for social equity business licenses.

Defending Democracy

Restoring the right to vote for individuals with felony convictions who have fulfilled their debt to society (HF 28)
- Restores the voting rights for the 50,000 Minnesotans across the state who have been convicted of a felony but are not currently incarcerated.
- In the news: Felons deserve voting rights, Opinion: Minnesota’s vote to re-enfranchise felons is a victory for democracy, Ex felons in Minnesota say right to vote is ‘life changing’.
Omnibus State and Local Government and Elections budget bill (SF 1830)
- State and Local Government
  - Funding:
    - State Government $1.6 billion
    - Local Government: $10 million
  - Restores funding for core functions of government after years of underfunding.
- Elections
  - Protects election workers from intimidation and harassment
  - Establishes an 18-day early voting period, expanding access and convenience by ensuring voters will have the flexibility to cast their ballots at the time and place which works best for them.
Omnibus Elections policy bill (SF 1362)
- National Popular Vote (NPV) Compact:
  - The majority of Minnesotans support NPV, and this language offers a fundamentally fair system to ensure that every voice is heard, and vote counts equally in our presidential elections.
- Updates reporting requirements for lobbyists and those who hire them:
  - Increases transparency by requiring lobbyists to disclose their subjects of interest and the officials who they are trying to influence.
- Makes it easier for students to vote:
  - This bill makes registering to vote easier for the more than 400,000 postsecondary students in Minnesota, helping to build an early foundation of civic participation.
- Requires reporting and disclaimers for attack ads by closing a loopholes.
Democracy for the People Act (HF 3)
- Pre-Registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, allows young Minnesotans to pre-register to vote, building an early foundation of civic participation.
- Allows Minnesotans automatically register to vote when they complete certain applications with some state agencies.
- Opt-in to a Permanent Absentee Voter list
- Multilingual Election Judges, Sample Ballots, and Voting Instructions in at least the three most commonly spoken non-English languages in the state.
- Makes intimidation, deceptive practices or interference against an individual who is attempting to vote or to register to vote a gross misdemeanor.