It was great to meet with local farmers today during the annual Dairy Day at the Capitol. The dairy industry is crucial to Minnesota families and our state in general. Thanks for coming to the Capitol and I will continue doing all I can to support your best interests.
Dear Neighbor,
Greetings from St. Paul. Before we get into this week’s notes from the Capitol, I want to remind folks about a town hall meeting I am hosting 10 a.m. tomorrow (Friday) at Buddies Bar and Grill in Hancock to discuss the use of corn and soybeans in low-carbon sustainable fuels. Representatives from Delta Airlines and a number of ag groups are among those scheduled to attend.
As mentioned in last week’s email, jet fuel represents a huge market and, if ethanol could be used as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel, it would represent a tremendous new demand. But there are some hurdles to get to that point, and this meeting will help farmers and those involved in the production of ethanol become more familiar with the topic.
Hope you can join us for this discussion.
In other news:
School resource officers
The Minnesota House on Monday approved a bill to address a change in law last year which caused school resource officers to be removed from schools throughout the state.
The bill we approved excludes SROs as employees or agents of a school district, excludes SROs from the prohibitions on prone restraints and physical holds, revises the “reasonable force standard,” mandates school districts and charter schools use only trained SROs, and establishes new training and model policy requirements for law enforcement.
I’m glad to see this bill move through the House with strong, bipartisan support on a 124-8 vote, and we now wait for the Senate to act on it.
Religious freedom
Concern over religious freedom has surfaced in regard to changes the majority made in the Minnesota Human Rights Act last year.
Before last year, when gender identity was included within the MHRA definition of sexual orientation, the still-existing religious exemption for sexual orientation covered gender identity claims as well. When a new, separate definition of gender identity was created last year, there was no corresponding religious exemption added.
House Republicans offered an amendment during a committee hearing to restore the religious exemption in the MHRA protecting religious organizations and faith-based schools against claims of gender identity discrimination. Unfortunately, the Democrat majority voted that amendment down.
Senate Democrats can right this wrong by accepting that amendment. It is unclear when that issue will be put to a vote since the Senate canceled a hearing on this bill scheduled for this week.
Until next time, have a good weekend and please let me know how I can help.
Sincerely,
Paul