5-20-2011
We need your help in the final days the 2011 State Session. THere are two main issues that we need your help on.
Update 5-11-2011
The Minnesota Legislature has fast tracked a bill that would have Minnesotans vote in 2012 to outlaw gay marriage. Discrimination should NOT be written into our constitution. The bill has just passed the full Senate and will most likely be voted on in the House in the next few days. The Governor does not have the power to veto it, so if it passes it will be on the ballot in 2012. Hopefully it will not come to that.
Legislative update 3-18-2011
As the March 25 deadline approaches in the Legislature, legislators are hurrying bills with fiscal notes through committee. We have testified on voter ID (again and again), school vouchers, and familial DNA. The week of March 21 will see the formation of all the omnibus fiscal bills, then the policy bills without fiscal impact will roll forward. Here is our testimony opposing requiring a photo ID to vote, allowing vouchers to send public tax money to private schools, and allowing the state to use its felony DNA database to search for relatives of felons as possible suspects.
MinnesotaL legislative Update 2-15-2011
The last month at the legislature has seen a highly active House and a studious Senate. The House has pushed two voter ID bills and a myriad of public safety changes through committee. The Senate has not yet held hearings on any bills affecting civil liberties.
Voter ID. For three days, the House Government Operations Policy committee heard testimony and debate on voter i.d. HF89, if enacted, would be the harshest voter i.d. law in the nation, potentially eliminating absentee voting. In addition to being more restrictive than HF89, HF210 would cost over $20 million and specifically limit the rights of Native Americans to vote. Both the testimony and the debate on these bills highlighted the constitutional right to vote. The bills passed on straight party-line votes to the House Government Operations Finance committee. The key issue on voter i.d. is that a vote of the majority cannot take away the fundamental constitutional right to vote.
Public Safety. The House Public Safety committee has been hearing a slew of bills. The ACLU-MN has testified on HF151 (ex post facto punishment of sex offenders), HF152 (removing intent from possession of fake I.D.s), and HF306 (prosecuting 10 year olds as adults). We also prepared testimony for HF368 (prohibiting cities from protecting residents from immigration interrogation by police) but the hearing on that bill was cancelled. HF 151 passed, but we slowed its progress: by raising the ex post facto issue, the bill now has to go through the civil law committee as well. HF 152 passed to the House Judiciary committee. HF 306 was tabled.
We are seeing a heightened awareness of the Constitution at the Capitol. Regardless of which side of the aisle is talking about the Constitution, it is a good conversation and raises the tone of debate.
Your voice also raises the tone of debate at the Capitol. Exercise your constitutional right to speak and petition the government, whether your concerns are about voting rights, immigrants rights, reproductive freedom rights, Fourth Amendment rights or anything else. You can find your legislator's contact information at www.leg.state.mn.us. Always identify yourself as a constituent. I also thank legislators for their service, regardless of their views on civil liberties, because we are all part of this glorious experiment of self government.
Here are some of the testimonies the ACLU has presented thus far at the Capitol
HF 152 - Opposing criminalization of possession of multiple IDs
HF 273 - Opposing private school vouchers
HF 151 - Testimony opposing expanding adult prosecutions
HF 981 - Opposing familial DNA
SF 479/509 - Opposing voter ID requirements
Federal
To find out what is going on at the Federal level please visit the ACLU's action center.
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