Tag: Minnesota House

Minnesota Waives Absentee Ballot Witness Signature Requirement

The Associated Press

Minnesota will waive its witness requirements for absentee ballots for the statewide primary election in August under the settlement of two lawsuits sparked by the health threat from the coronavirus pandemic.

The lawsuits were filed by political arms of the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and the Minnesota Alliance for Retired Americans. A Ramsey County judge signed off on the consent decree with the retirees Wednesday while a federal judge scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the league’s case.

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Nine More Lawmakers Join Lawsuit Against Gov. Walz Over Use of Emergency Powers

Anthony Gockowski

Nine more Republican lawmakers have joined a lawsuit against Gov. Tim Walz regarding his use of emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Resolution to End Walz’s Peacetime Emergency Fails to Pass, But Receives Bipartisan Support

Anthony Gockowski

Yet another resolution to end Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency declaration was rejected Friday, but this time the proposal received bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

The resolution passed the Republican-controlled Senate in a vote of 38-29, with three Democratic senators joining Republicans in voting to end the governor’s emergency powers, which first took effect March 13 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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DFL Lawmaker Wants Portrait of Lincoln Removed from Minnesota House Chamber

Anthony Gockowski

A DFL lawmaker revealed on Twitter this week that she’s “tried a bunch of times” to get a portrait of President Abraham Lincoln removed from the Minnesota House chamber.

State Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein (DFL-New Brighton) said it’s “hard to look at” House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) when she’s “standing in front of Lincoln.”

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Minnesota Business Owners Call for Reopening Economy During Press Conference at the Capitol

Anthony Gockowski

Several small business owners called for reopening the economy during a Monday press conference at the Minnesota Capitol.

“We desire to honor our God, and our government and governor. We think we can do both. But we have no idea how to get a plan approved, to whom to submit it, or if anyone needs to or will consider it. The church needs to gather, we are more the church when we gather than at any other time. Please, Gov. Walz, help us by providing clear ways for plans to be approved and for us to meet,” said Rory Martin, pastor of the Liberty Baptist Church in Eden Prairie.

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Organization Claims Minnesota Legislative Committees Meeting in Small Groups to Avoid Open Meetings Law

Anthony Gockowski
ACLU Minnesota John Gordon

A legal organization said members of the Minnesota Legislature are holding committee meetings in small groups in order to avoid triggering the state’s “Open Meeting Law.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota said legislators have been deliberately meeting in small groups so they can bypass the law, which generally requires that all meetings be open to the public.

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DFL-Controlled House Blocks Two Resolutions to End Minnesota’s Peacetime Emergency

Anthony Gockowski

The DFL-controlled Minnesota House voted Tuesday against two resolutions that would have ended Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency declaration and voided his coronavirus-related executive orders.

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Minnesota Republicans Introduce Bill to End Peacetime Emergency, Return Power to Legislature

Anthony Gockowski

Minnesota House Republicans introduced a resolution Monday that would end Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency declaration and restore power in responding to the pandemic to the State Legislature.

The resolution was introduced shortly after Walz announced that he has extended the state’s peacetime emergency for 30 days, which allows the governor to act unilaterally in adopting “necessary orders and rules.”

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Republican Lawmakers Blast Minnesota’s Coronavirus Omnibus Bill: ‘Zero Transparency’

Anthony Gockowski

The Minnesota Legislature passed a $330 million omnibus bill this week to address the coronavirus pandemic, but some Republican lawmakers were frustrated with the unprecedented lack of transparency in the process.

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Minnesota Republicans Introduce Bill to Strip Funding from Libraries That Host ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’

Anthony Gockowski

A bill introduced Monday in the Minnesota House would pull public funding from libraries that host “drag queen story hour” performances for children.

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Minnesota’s Projected Budget Surplus Increases $181 Million in New Forecast

Anthony Gockowski

Minnesota Management and Budget’s annual February economic forecast projected a budget surplus of $1.513 billion for the 2020-21 budget cycle.

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Minnesota Session Begins With Debate to Adjourn Until Next Year: ‘We’re Safer If the Legislature Goes Home’

Anthony Gockowski

The Minnesota Legislature kicked off its 2020 legislative session Tuesday, but the House began with an unexpected debate about whether or not it should even be meeting.

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State Reps Ask Two More Minnesota Counties to Become Second Amendment Sanctuaries

Anthony Gockowski

Republican state lawmakers have asked two more Minnesota counties to become Second Amendment “sanctuary” jurisdictions, which are areas that refuse to enforce gun control measures.

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National Democrats Sue Minnesota As Part of ‘Eight Figure Commitment’ to Fighting ‘Voter Suppression’

Anthony Gockowski

Two national Democratic groups filed a lawsuit against Minnesota Thursday in an effort to eliminate the state’s “unconstitutional” restrictions on voter assistance.

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Minnesota State Senator ‘Deeply Disturbed’ by DFL Leader’s Threat to Cut Funding from County Over Refugees

Anthony Gockowski

A Minnesota senator said he is “deeply disturbed” by House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler’s (DFL-Golden Valley) threat to cut state aid from Beltrami County after it voted to opt out of refugee resettlement.

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DFL House Leader Threatens Minnesota County for Voting Against Refugee Resettlement

Anthony Gockowski

A high-ranking Minnesota lawmaker is threatening to withhold state aid from Beltrami County after it became the first county in the state to opt out of refugee resettlement.

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Republican Says Minnesota Gov. Walz’s ‘Inexperience’ and ‘Incompetence’ Forced Special Session

Anthony Gockowski

  Gov. Tim Walz called a special session for the Minnesota Legislature so it could finish passing some of the state’s major budget bills, but some Republicans think a special session could have been avoided. The Legislature officially adjourned on Monday, May 20 at midnight after Walz and party leaders…

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Minnesota GOP House Leader Calls 2019 Session ‘Least Productive’ and ‘Least Transparent’ in History

Anthony Gockowski

  House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) had some harsh words for his Democratic colleagues in the Minnesota House after the 2019 legislative session came to an official close Monday at midnight. Party leaders and Gov. Tim Walz agreed on a $48.3 billion biennial budget on Sunday, giving lawmakers hardly…

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DFL State Rep Supports Allowing Minnesota Prisoners to Vote

Anthony Gockowski

  A DFL state representative revealed during a recent debate on the Minnesota House floor that he supports allowing incarcerated individuals to vote from prison. “I actually am looking forward to a bill or amendment … that would put Minnesota in line with states like Vermont and Maine that actually…

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Republicans Support Three Minnesota Bills That Would Send $8 Million in Taxpayer Money to Somali Programs

Anthony Gockowski

  Three bills in the Minnesota Legislature would divert a total of $8 million in taxpayer money to Somali programs over the next two fiscal years. House File 985, for instance, would develop an “east African community economic development pilot program,” which would receive $2 million in both fiscal year…

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Minnesota Rep Delivers Passionate Speech on Planned Parenthood’s Efforts to Infiltrate Public Schools

Anthony Gockowski

  State Rep. Eric Lucero (R-Dayton) delivered a passionate speech on the floor of the Minnesota House last week on Planned Parenthood’s efforts to brainwash young children. Lucero’s remarks were made in the context of a House debate on House File 2400, an omnibus education finance bill that would make…

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Minnesota House Votes in Favor of Driver’s Licenses for Illegal Immigrants

Anthony Gockowski

The Minnesota House voted in favor of a bill Friday afternoon that will allow illegal immigrants in the state to obtain valid driver’s licenses. Under House File 1500, an individual will not be “required to demonstrate United States citizenship or lawful presence in the United States in order to obtain…

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Minnesota Republicans Stand Against ‘Barbaric’ Pro-Abortion Bills

Anthony Gockowski

Minnesota’s Republican legislators called a press conference Thursday in the lobby of the Minnesota Capitol to oppose the radical pro-abortion measures being passed across the country. As was widely reported, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) signed the Reproductive Rights Act into law last week, clearing the way for abortions up to…

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House DFL Tells Trump He’s ‘Threatening the Well-Being of Minnesotans’ in Letter

Anthony Gockowski

Nearly every DFL member of the Minnesota House signed their name to a letter sent to President Donald Trump Thursday urging him to “end this shutdown immediately.” “The ongoing federal government shutdown—now the longest in the history of our nation—is threatening the well-being of Minnesotans, putting our state tax dollars…

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